Gino Kenny (Dublin Mid West, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I commend Sinn Féin on this very important motion. I attended the Joint Committee on Health last week where the issue concerning the situation with cancer services was discussed. Representatives of the Irish Cancer Society presented a very sombre view of cancer services in Ireland. There is much to be proud of in our public health system, but there is also a lot to be concerned about in our system that treats people who have cancer. Cancer is a very prevalent condition. One in two of us will have the condition, which is to say that 70 or 80 TDs in here, who make up the composition of the Dáil, will possibly have cancer. This is a sobering thought. We will also encounter cancer through the experiences of our relatives and loved ones. It is, therefore, very prevalent. Obviously, we are also living longer. This is a great thing but we need medical intervention at the right time. This is very important. The national cancer strategy is a great concept but it has certainly stalled in recent times, especially since 2017. Again, the Irish Cancer Society critiqued where it is, in some ways, stalled and, in some ways, has actually gone backwards. This is very worrying in terms of the prevalence of cancer and the rapidity of intervention in this regard. When people get timely intervention with cancer, then the outcomes are extremely good.

There is also the issue of the inequalities in our health system. People in the private health system will have better access to screening and diagnosis and to new medicines. This is a stain on our society. I refer to the divide between public and private treatment in relation to whether people live or not. This is really what it comes down to and this issue of access is a blight on our health system. There are also the usual social determinants in relation to health inequality, wealth inequality and lifestyle factors. These are major factors in determining who gets cancer and who does not, and this can play a major role in terms of the prevalence of cancer.

The Minister is gone, but I also wish to raise another issue. I raised it at the health committee last week as well and it is important. Cancer is a broad spectrum in terms of its diagnosis. In Ireland, we have a breast screening programme that starts at the age of 50 and covers those up to 69.

In recent years that has gone from 65 to 69, which is a good thing, but there is a school of thought that screening should begin before 50. In some European countries this screening starts at 40 or 45. Some 23% of all breast cancers were diagnosed in women under the age of 40. We should be thinking about expanding this programme for those under 50. We have seen a really good example in Sweden, which brought the age for the screening programme down to 40, and the age of mortality and diagnosis went down by a quarter. There is considerable credibility in the screening programme, particularly for breast cancer.

As some other Deputies have said, some of the equipment that has been bought at great cost is not being used in particular hospitals around the State, which is pretty unbelievable. We have very advanced medical equipment not being used because people are not being recruited or retained to use this equipment. It is really damning that equipment, which could and should be used in trying to save people in the public health system, is not being used. That is a really bad indictment.

The national cancer strategy needs to be reviewed and it needs a new impetus. It is a great concept but it needs a review and it needs to be updated. I wish the Minister of State, Deputy Colm Burke, well in his new role.

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