Michael McCarthy (Labour)

I second the motion. It is sad when the Upper House of the national Parliament has to debate an issue of this magnitude. The failure to extend the BreastCheck service nationwide, as per the commitments given at different stages by various Ministers, is a shocking indictment of how money is being expended by the Government. I am not being flippant about expenditure in essential areas, but the Government places greater emphasis on animal health than it does on women's health.

The Book of Estimates for 2003 states that €60 million will be spent on the eradication of bovine TB and that €70 million in total will be spent on the eradication of animal disease. It would only cost €25 million to extend the BreastCheck scheme nationwide and that could be achieved within a period of 22 months. I find it difficult to accept any excuse as to why this has not already been done.

The success of the BreastCheck programme speaks for itself. By the end of August last year, over 91,000 women were invited for screening and 74% took up the offer. Up to June of last year, over 544 cancers were detected. That statistic, while in its way is sad, speaks volumes about the success of BreastCheck. The recent announcement that the scheme was to be extended to Carlow, Kilkenny and other places is welcome. Any assistance provided to women who may be carrying this deadly disease is a welcome development. However, the failure of the Government to extend this service to places such as Cork and Kerry and areas in Connacht is absolutely unforgivable. As already stated, the fact that the Government spends more on animal health is an affront to people's integrity and to democracy.

The Progressive Democrats stated in their manifesto that no person would have to travel 100 miles for radiotherapy treatment, but this aim has not yet been achieved. The Celtic tiger roared loud and often enough for many years and the Government should have been in a position to divert funding into this area and uphold commitments such as that made by the Progressive Democrats.

In west Cork, the reality is that many people have to travel over 100 miles to obtain this essential service. I cannot think of any credible reason that this service has not been extended nationwide and why it is not available to people in urban centres such as Cork. Is this because the Minister for Finance has refused to give him €22.5 million to extend the service? Is it because the Department of Health and Children, which has so much money in its budget, is unwilling to increase the funding for the service? Who really runs the Department of Health and Children or the Department of the Environment and Local Government?