Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

The Senator has been most vigilant about this matter. I thank him for raising it on the Adjournment and for giving me this opportunity to set out the current position on the provision of radiotherapy services.

As the Deputy will be aware, my colleague the Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Martin, established the expert review group on radiotherapy services to examine the appropriate future development of radiotherapy services. The group comprises a multidisciplinary team of experts in radiation oncology, surgical oncology, nursing, epidemiology and palliative care. It has conducted a national assessment of needs for radiotherapy services, having regard to the demography and epidemiology of cancer and the gaps in current service provision.

The group's report will address the following key issues: access to radiotherapy services in terms of information, financial access and organisational components of access; the need to provide a high quality, evidence based service; the need to take account of current and new developments in health technology; the requirements of the system in terms of human resources; international norms in relation to service provision, planning and staffing; and the organisational development of the services in terms of structures and processes which need to be place in a radiotherapy facility.