Geraldine Feeney (Fianna Fail)

She spoke from the heart with such knowledge. I can see she has a genuine compassion and concern for what is happening here today. That probably comes from all sides of the House, where everybody, whether one has had members of one's family or one's friends affected by cancer, knows somebody who has been through St. Luke's. Thankfully, I have never had anybody close to me there, but I have certainly had some good friends who have gone through, received very good treatment and come out the other end, and equally so, ones who did not come out the other end.

What is lovely about St. Luke's, everybody says, is the beautiful serenity, peacefulness and solace. The Minister of State mentioned it when she spoke about the grounds. It is a special place. Really, it is a little oasis tucked away in a busy part of Dublin called Rathgar.

Unfortunately, we are here today to see the winding up of St. Luke's Hospital. I say "unfortunately" with a little smile on my face because we are fortunate also in that our cancer control programme has reached such a level and we are now seeing the establishment of eight new specialist centres. I will always called them "specialist centres", rather than the term "centres of excellence" that is commonly used, because, as I have heard Deputy Áine Brady state previously, every centre that provides health care services is a centre of a excellence but these are specialist centres where there are multidisciplinary teams. I congratulate the former director of the entire cancer programme, Professor Tom Keane, and I wish his successor well in her new role.

No doubt before the national cancer programme was rolled out Ireland had one of the worst records in Europe. Sadly, we all know the sorry tales of the women who have been affected so badly by misdiagnosis of breast cancer, cervical cancer, ovarian cancer - all sorts of cancer. Not alone have women been misdiagnosed, but men have been misdiagnosed.

However, today is not a day to dwell on the national cancer control programme. It is a day for us to pay tribute to St. Luke's and the wonderful work it has done over 55 years. It was set up in 1954. I note Senator Mary White has just come in. Her husband, Pádraic, has been chair of the board for ten years. They always seemed to attract very good, hard-working, progressive caring-type minds to St. Luke's and they carry out their duty in a diligent and - again, I use the word - serene way. Things are done and nobody knows about them, but those who avail of the service certainly know about it. I come back again to speak about the wonderful caring staff. I am glad they will be redeployed and that they can carry on the significant work they have been doing over the years for cancer sufferers.

I was delighted to hear Deputy Áine Brady state that the building and the grounds will be almost ring-fenced and nothing will be done without the Minister's say. Naturally, one cannot leave it as a shrine but it seems to be a very special place. The board of St. Luke's to which I have briefly alluded certainly seems to be caring and hard-working. All boards are hard working, but it is difficult to get that special mix of people who really feel for what they are doing and how they do it. They certainly seem to have it on the board, and the staff are no different to their board.

What does one say about a charity like The Friends of St. Luke's Hospital? Some €26 million is an incredible amount of money to have raised. It is done by people who have had a member of their family suffer cancer or who have been sufferers themselves and have received and continue to receive wonderful treatment in St. Luke's Hospital. As voluntarism is a thing of the past, credit is due to those who have raised such a huge amount of money. Having done voluntary work for different groups and charities, I know what it is like to ask for money and hate doing it. However, it has to be done.

I refer to the reason given for the closure of St. Luke's Hospital. Professor Tom Keane, rightly, has found that the hospital cannot be a stand-alone unit and that its facilities must be transferred to the specialist centre in St. James's Hospital. The wonderful radiotherapy unit will cease to operate in 2014, when the other two units will come into play at St. James's and Beaumont hospitals. I echo the sentiments expressed by Senator Fitzgerald that there is a concern that the date of 2014 will be extended to 2015. I do not see a real problem with this because St. Luke's Hospial will continue to provide a first-class service. I agree the specialist units and multidisciplinary teams are the way to go. Ireland had to come into the real world. As the Minister said yesterday in the House on a completely different matter, we have men and women in the medical world at the height of their careers who are leading the country and its 4.5 million people towards the best global level of health care and that we will be able to hold our heads up. However, there have been hiccups, which we will not deny. With the centres in place, it is to be hoped Ireland will move on and that patients who present with cancers will be treated appropriately. It is to be hoped also that fewer will present because there will be better screening programmes.

I will speak about a parochial matter. I reiterate that I have always supported the moving of smaller units to specialist units and have not changed my position. I supported the transfer of breast cancer services from my own hospital in Sligo. However, I was surprised to find that one of my colleagues had discovered under freedom of information legislation that the service in Galway might not have been ready for the transfer. I have been informed by the cancer support group, Cancer Ireland, that the transition has been made and things are working out well.

I wish those involved in St. Luke's Hospital well in the transition. I congratulate the hospital for the wonderful service it has given the nation in the past 55 years. I thank, in particular, its wonderful, dedicated staff, its wonderful board and the incredible Friends of St. Luke's Hospital which, with the staff and the board, has helped patients to come out the other end. This is wonderful to see, but it is equally important to acknowledge the wonderful comfort and solace St. Luke's Hospital provides for those who will not be fortunate to come out the other end. I know from talking to a person who had a family member in the hospital that it was the most wonderful place for the person concerned to end their days and find solace.

I wish the Bill well and look forward to the debate on the remaining Stages. It is lovely to see everyone singing from the same hymn sheet on legislation. I congratulate the Department for dealing with the matter so sensitively and the Minister of State for presenting the Bill.