Liam Twomey (Fine Gael)

I wish to correct the record of the House. Reference was made in the House either yesterday morning or possibly on Tuesday to the availability of BreastCheck in the north west and west. A statement from the Irish Cancer Society makes it clear there is no BreastCheck service at present in counties Donegal, Leitrim or Clare. It is not available and there are no plans for it in the future because of the current recruitment embargo within the BreastCheck screening programme. This should be put on the record of the House because although Senator Feeney clearly shot down Senators Coffey and Buttimer in this regard when Senator Buttimer raised this issue, it is not the case. I refer to what is going on with the HSE, which is now taking on celebrity advisers to generate PR. The Government should put a stop to this nonsense. A Bentley driving solicitor giving advice to the Government on how to run the health service cannot go further than recommending a glass of Chablis for patients before they go to bed.