Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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With a few short words, I express the concerns of the people of Cobh, who are currently reading a recent study by the National Cancer Registry of Ireland indicating that the rates of prostate cancer there are 71% higher than the national average, with female breast cancer incidence 38% above the norm.

The people of Cobh are very concerned. While he is in the House, I congratulate my constituency colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy David Stanton, on his new position. I know he has spoken on this issue and expressed concern about it in the past.

I raise this issue because when the National Cancer Registry was asked for a reason that the rates are higher in Cobh, it stated that it could be down to the issue of social deprivation. I do not believe that is a proper answer when asked a question of that nature. We know that Cobh is a town with a history of heavy industry, that there is a remediation programme going on at the moment in an area in which heavy industry is no longer located and that the Environmental Protection Agency is monitoring the pharmaceutical or pharmachem industries in the lower harbour areas. However, we do not have actual clean air monitoring at specific reference points throughout the Cobh area and there is no live reporting to the public.

It could be beneficial if a baseline study were instigated for Cobh and a full investigation could be carried out. This could be done without necessarily putting an extra charge on the Exchequer because there is a number of stakeholders, such as GPs and UCC, in particular, which have addressed the strategic policy committee of Cork County Council, that is, the environment committee. The department of chemistry and the environmental research unit have stated that they would be happy to conduct studies in this area. It is an issue that affects every family in Cobh. Professor Colin Bradley, a professor of general practice, stated recently: "I've seen more cancers in surprisingly young people than I would in previous practices". He is referring specifically to Cobh. I believe it is an issue that is worthy of further investigation. I do not accept the social deprivation answer that has been given by the National Cancer Registry. We laud the work it does but we need some empirical evidence. It would appear that there is an intergenerational increase in the rate of cancer, not only prostate and female breast cancer, but also in other areas.

I am asking the Minister at least to consider facilitating some stakeholder engagement on this issue. I am not necessarily looking for a cheque for a baseline study but if we can get a favourable response from the Minister to the idea of putting together some sort of stakeholder group involving UCC, which has stated that it would be willing at least to partake in further studies on this issue, then we could seek to deliver something for the people in Cobh, who are gravely concerned about the matter. I am asking the Minister to have an open mind. I will leave him with one metric. If one looks at the 1994 to 2007 figures, the urban area of Cobh had a 37% higher incidence than other parts of the country. That would mean that within that timeframe, someone in Cobh was diagnosed with cancer every 11 days. I thank the Acting Chairman and hope I will receive a favourable reply.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Sherlock for raising this issue and I welcome the opportunity to clarify the position on the incidence of cancer in the Cobh area in County Cork. As the Deputy asked, I will keep an open mind but I will now present him with the information I have been presented with. I want to reassure the Deputy and the people of Cobh that there is no newly published report setting out higher rates of cancer in the Cork area. The National Cancer Registry is the statutory agency with responsibility for the collection and analysis of data relating to the number of cancer cases. Analysis conducted by the cancer registry for the period 1994 to 2007 indicates that Cobh urban had a higher cancer incidence rate than the national rate and the Cork County rate. However, the data also indicated that Cobh rural had a lower incidence rate than the national rate over those years. While there is a number of possible reasons for these differences, it is important to acknowledge that cancer incidence is reported as average figures and that there will always be local variations above and below the average. This is particularly true when looking at a small population area, such as Cobh, relative to the national population.

In 2008, the then Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government commissioned an independent report on the site conditions at Haulbowline. The assessment involved analysis of all likely contaminants to determine whether there was a threat to human health or the environment. The report concluded that: "Based on the monitoring works completed it is concluded that there are no identified risks to the residential inhabitants of Cork harbour associated with the presence of waste materials at the East Tip on Haulbowline Island." In light of the conclusions of the 2008 report, it was decided not to conduct a baseline health survey for the Cork harbour region at that time.

There is a number of reasons variations may exist in cancer rates. The primary factor is age. While it is unfortunate that some people are diagnosed with cancer earlier in life, cancer is predominantly a disease of ageing. Lifestyle issues such as tobacco use, alcohol consumption, lack of physical exercise, unhealthy diet and excess body weight are risk factors. It is internationally accepted that up to one third of cancers can be prevented by improving these modifiable risk factors. My Department is currently working on a new national cancer strategy for the next decade. This will build on the progress made through the implementation of the two previous strategies. Areas of focus are likely to include prevention, early diagnosis, further improvements in treatment, rare cancers, survivorship and high quality, patient-centred care. I intend to publish this new strategy in the coming months.

I am looking forward to the implementation of the new strategy and to making a further significant improvement in our efforts to prevent cancer and to deal effectively with it when it does occur but on the basis of the issues Deputy Sherlock has raised, I will ask that my Department reflect on the points he has made and that it revert back to me. Any future decision in respect of a baseline health survey would have to be taken in conjunction with the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government, which is set to be renamed.