Joe McHugh (Fine Gael)

I thank Senator Feighan for sharing time with me. This debate is an opportunity for politicians to put forward their views on the cancer strategy and to examine the anomalies within the strategy. We owe it to the electorate, whether we are in the Opposition or in Government, to continue to debate this issue. We have not found solutions although, ultimately, there will never be concrete solutions for some cancer issues.

I wish to highlight two matters to the Minister of State. There is need for centres of excellence. There is a need to pool expertise, skills and knowledge to provide specialised cancer services. That is accepted. People who are undergoing radiotherapy and chemotherapy and who are availing of these services in the centres of excellence will travel to avail of them. That is a fact.

However, there is the issue of peripherality. Senator Scanlon made that point very well when he articulated the point of view of people living on the periphery. There are varying types of cancer and varying degrees of suffering. Some cancer sufferers are not in a position to travel. They feel the journey is sufficiently arduous without having to go through the process of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. That is the challenge for us. On the one hand we must pool resources in centres of excellence but we must also argue for peripherality. There is no stronger voice for this argument than the Donegal Action for Cancer Care group. Nationally it has a high profile and it has been vociferous locally, organising a demonstration of over 15,000 people in Letterkenny to protest the possible downgrading of cancer care services in Letterkenny General Hospital. That is the argument for peripherality. It does not come from scientific research, it comes from the people. The people involved in the Donegal Action for Cancer Care group are cancer sufferers who have been through the mill. They know what they are talking about and they do not want to hear the argument that centres of excellence should be in the east of the country, in Dublin, Galway, Limerick, Waterford and Cork. They will not accept that.

Senator Scanlon mentioned his constituency. Sligo, Leitrim, Donegal, Tyrone, Fermanagh and Derry form a nucleus for a centre of excellence. The people demand it and it is up to us as legislators to follow through.