Marie Sherlock (Dublin Central, Labour)

I very much share the Minister's concern but I know, for example, that there is an MRI scanner in a major hospital for which they cannot get access to the post because there has been a suppressed post. I can talk to her afterwards about this.

There is also the reality of the very significant inequality for some women out there. Research published this year by the National Cancer Registry Ireland shows that 41% of women from deprived backgrounds have a much higher risk of death within five years of diagnosis compared with those from more affluent backgrounds and 24% have a higher risk of being diagnosed with late stage disease. We have had 4,000 diagnoses in 2022. One in seven of us women will get breast cancer in our lifetime. These wrinkles within the hospital system are down to the equipment that is not being properly optimised because of suppressed positions, and the delayed response to business cases by the HSE for breast surgeons. These are very real issues.

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