Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta as ucht a chuid ceisteanna.

Ar dtús ba mhaith liom buíochas a ghabhadh lenár bhfoireann sláinte go léir as ucht an cúram atá á sholáthar acu inár ospidéil agus sa phobal le linn tréimhse an-ghnóthach. Sin é an fáth go bhfuil líon na leapacha ospidéil á mhéadú againn; tá an buiséid sláinte is mó riamh againn; agus tá níos mó dochtúirí, altraí agus foireann cabhrach ag obair inár ospidéil in iarthar na Gaillimhe agus i ngach cuid den tír. I agree with the Deputy on one important point, which is that we need to invest in our health services all over the country but also in the west of Ireland.

I share his frustration that so many important projects in the west have been delayed, particularly the emergency department and the paediatric and maternity units at University Hospital Galway, UHG, which should have been under construction by now, let alone have gone to planning. That is something I will be pursuing with the Minister for Health, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, and the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Donohoe, over the course of the year so that we get those projects up and running. I am aware, of course, that there are other important projects that need to be advanced as well, such as the medical assessment units in Sligo and Castlebar and also the cancer centre the Deputy mentioned.

As Deputies will know, the Saolta University Health Care Group covers six hospitals in the west and north-west region and serves a very significant population, covering more than 830,000 people. We need to plan for a population of 1 million in that region in the course of the next 20 years. That is the way we should see it, not as a number of counties or cities but also as a region of 1 million people that should have the kind of health services and specialist services it deserves. The combined budget for the hospital group is more than €1 billion and that is an increase of 24% in five years. I recognise the importance of investment and we are committed to working with the HSE, the hospital group and individual hospitals to make sure that happens.

As regards cancer services, cancer survival rates have increased significantly in the past two decades in Ireland and continue to improve, as we know from the national healthcare quality reporting system. When it comes to lung cancer, which is the leading cause of cancer death in men and women in Ireland, our five-year survival rates are now above the OECD average, and the same goes for breast canner. In the HSE west area, the survival rate for lung cancer is 16.5%, compared with 17.1% nationally, a gap of 0.6%. The survival rate for the HSE west region for breast cancer is 82.5%, compared with 82.9% nationally, a gap of 0.4%. It is important to say there are many factors, not just one, that may give rise to this discrepancy.

As regards the elective hospitals we are building as part of the Sláintecare reform plans, we are committed to them but we are realistic that it will be 2027 or 2028 before patients will be seen in those hospitals and we need interim measures. That is why we are working on the surgical hubs, for example, which will help to bring down wait times in the meantime.

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