I accept that Irish mortality rates are out of line with European data and need to be reduced. It is important to state the vast majority of women with breast cancer will be diagnosed and treated outside the national screening programme. Judging from the debate in recent weeks one would imagine BreastCheck was the be all and end all of saving lives. It is not. I argue that prior to 1997 – I do not mean this in any political sense – we were not treating cancer properly and not responding to it in any sophisticated focused programme in line with international best practice which would guarantee better survival rates and a better outcome.