Maurice Cummins (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Áine Brady. I also welcome the advances made in cancer care in recent years. I fully support the concept of having eight centres of excellence, providing for enhanced services and with multidisciplinary teams in place. We must have these facilities; that is what the experts say. We have heard what Senator Dearey's wife said about multidisciplinary teams and the enhancement of services. We must have such centres and they must be staffed adequately. We must get them up and running to avoid the misdiagnoses that have occurred in many hospitals in recent years, which was an absolute scandal.

There is no question but that we are going down the right path by having centres of excellence but we should not close down facilities until similar ones are put in their place. This has been alluded to by Senator Feeney, who referred to Sligo. Facilities were closed down in Sligo before adequate facilities were put in place in Galway. That should not happen elsewhere. There should be an orderly closure of facilities only after their replacement has been provided. This is a fair suggestion.

Radiation oncology and radiotherapy have been a burning issue in Waterford for many years. The Minister of State spoke of centres of excellence in Dublin, Cork and Galway and referred to the north west. In passing, she mentioned Waterford. Our debate pack on the Bill also glosses over Waterford. It states: "In addition, the Government has also decided that in the further development of services, consideration should be given to developing satellite centres at Waterford".

I presume the Government is fully committed to providing radiotherapy facilities in Waterford. The deadline for provision of a number of the centres seems to have been extended in several areas for some of the disciplines. I want the Minister of State to let me know today, or if not today fairly soon, the timeframe for provision of radiotherapy facilities in Waterford Regional Hospital in the south-east region. At present, we are lucky there is a private hospital, the Whitfield Clinic, providing radiotherapy for patients in the south east under an arrangement between it and the HSE. However, there is a commitment from the Government and I want to know the timeframe for the development of cancer services, especially radiotherapy services and the linear accelerators necessary at Waterford Regional Hospital.

St. Luke's Hospital has been a beacon of light for more than 50 years for those suffering from cancer. Its day of downgrading is a sad day. We have had representations on this from many people. I have known Mr. Joe Guilfoyle, chairman of the support group, for many years. People are angry and sorrowful to see the downgrading of such a wonderful hospital, bearing in mind the serenity and treatment it afforded to patients down through the years. I am glad the facility will remain open and that radiotherapy and other services will continue until 2014. Perhaps the Minster of State will clarify this.

St. Luke's Hospital has been a haven of care, security and tranquility for people who have suffered from cancer. Patients and their families love the hospital. I hear this daily. I welcome the announcement, which I hope is not just words, that the hospital and its grounds will be used for health services. It could be used as a step-down facility for those recovering from cancer. It could be used in many other ways. It should not be lost to the health system. I hope the words spoken will be honoured.

I am disappointed the deadline has been extended. All the deadlines have not been met in regard to the centres of excellence. I hope we can expedite the development of the eight regional cancer services and that they will be in place before we close down any other units.