Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)

The five-year net survival rates for breast cancer grew from 71% in the 1990s to 87.5% for the 2019 to 2022 period. We are going in the right direction. The Deputy is absolutely right to highlight it. We have had more people through the system and demand is increasing year on year. More than 56,000 patients were seen in clinics in 2024, up from 50,000 in 2019.

From my analysis, the single biggest issue, although there are many, is the timely access to MRI as a diagnostic tool. From the data I have, the reason for being out of target, say in 2022, was that imaging was at about 30%. It is now at 41%. We need to focus all of our efforts on access to imaging, the way in which our imaging technology is being used, the consistency, the hours that it is being used and the commitment of hospital staff to do that at all times and days of the week. As part of the productivity we were speaking about, this is an example of why that matters so much. Access to imaging, as far as I can see at the moment, really is the most challenging part.

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