Michael Finucane (Fine Gael)

On many occasions I have raised the importance of a radiotherapy facility for the Mid-Western Health Board region. I raise it because many people who suffer from cancer require radiotherapy treatment and must travel long distances for it. The expert review group's conclusions were greeted with much disappointment in my area, although from soundings taken in advance of the publication of the findings it was known that the mid-west and south east areas would not get radiotherapy services. The group has focused on what it calls three centres of excellence in locations in Dublin, Cork and Galway.

Regarding the expert review group, many of its findings and research were flawed. For example, within the report itself, an independent study was carried out on the priorities of patients, with travel distance ranked 13th. The Minister regarded this as significant but what he did not say is that many of those interviewed for the survey were from the Cork and Dublin areas, where travel is not a factor because they are near the locations for radiotherapy. The Cancer Care Alliance is composed of eminent people in the oncology sector and it has stated that this analysis, and the component on travel, being used to justify the three different locations and to say facilities were not needed in other areas is a flawed approach. I do not need to elaborate any further as to why the group takes this view.

It is significant to view the breakdown of people who had to travel: those travelling 0-10 miles made up 44%, 11-30 miles made up 16% and 31-60 miles made up 20%. A place like Mount Collins, at the very tip of County Limerick, is probably 180 miles from St. Luke's hospital, Dublin. Ranking the travel factor as justification for concentrating on three locations because cancer patients do not rate the travel distance is flawed and information exists to contradict that justification.