Michael Lowry (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the fact that the Government is taking the matter seriously. The Tánaiste, who is a qualified doctor, will be aware that it takes enormous strength, courage and willpower to overcome and to conquer cancer. The journey is long and arduous. It is an endurance test that stretches both the mind and the body. A medical all-clear is greeted with an overwhelming sense of relief and joy. It is a happy release from the burden of a debilitating, prolonged illness. As a survivor, to be told years later that you do not qualify, or that you are ineligible to access products because you have previously had cancer, is a hammer blow. This unfair approach undermines a survivor’s confidence, and it creates a doubt. It segregates and categorises former cancer patients. It is a blatant form of discrimination, which causes untold further and unnecessary hardship. I am asking for the Government to expedite this matter, to follow the example of other European countries and to make this part of legislation.

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