Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The €40 million was provided for 2021 and 2022, not since 2017. Those were the first two budgets of this Government. I asked exactly the same question the Deputy raised, namely, what is the full amount of funding sought under the national cancer strategy. The answer I was given was €20 million. In budget 2021, I allocated the full €20 million and a lot of money for new medicines. In 2022, I allocated a further €20 million, so that was €40 million for 2021 and 2022. The HSE was not able to use the full €20 million in both years so we retained the money and the HSE's was able to keep hiring sanctioned staff. That happened right through 2023. The Deputy will be aware that the HSE hired over 1,000 more staff than it was funded to hire in 2023. As a result, there have been many important new services and quicker access for cancer patients. I will refer to that in my next response.

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