Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am glad to get the opportunity to wish the Minister of State well in his new role. All the very best.

I want to thank in particular the Kerry-Cork link bus which takes people to the centre of excellence at CUH for treatment. I also thank all of the volunteers. Again, last Sunday, they put on a massive performance leaving Millstreet and finishing up in the Gleneagle Hotel in Killarney with all of the people involved. They deserve gold medals, to be honest.

We have to especially thank all of the other people who raise money for cancer treatment. The palliative care service in Tralee, which I understand is the best centre in the whole of Ireland, treats people who finish up there on the last days of their lives and receive such good treatment and care. The service also looks after the families.

Early diagnosis is so important. Some people are waiting with undue delay for magnetic resonance imaging, MRIs and scans. The HSE sought €20 million more for cancer treatment this year and, I am sorry to say, that this €20 million was spent by the Government on a referendum that helped nobody. The Government squandered €29 million, in fact.

We see so many young men and women passing away and leaving young families after them. Often, many of these people only get two months notice of their disease. The last person I knew received two and half weeks.

Something has gone wrong, and there is something wrong with the testing or whatever. It is not the diagnosing because these people knew there was something wrong with them for weeks and months before this, but they are not told or it is not found out until it is much too late.

I am sorry; I have gone over my time.

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