Catherine Ardagh (Dublin South Central, Fianna Fail)

November is lung cancer awareness month. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related death in Ireland yet unlike for breast, bowel and cervical cancers, there is no national screening programme in place. The Marie Keating Foundation recently launched the Breathless Collection campaign to highlight key symptoms of lung cancer, including shortness of breath, chest tightness, shoulder pain and a persistent cough. It is a simple message: symptoms cannot be ignored. We also now have the benefit of evidence from the lung health check pilot delivered in partnership with Beaumont Hospital, the RCSI and the ICS using a mobile low-dose CT model that has shown real promise in detecting lung cancer at its very earliest stage. My question today is this: when does the Department intend to progress this programme to a full national lung cancer screening programme?

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