Marc MacSharry (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister to the House. I will stick to the issue under discussion, although there are a few others I could discuss. We welcome this Bill, which was on the programme for Government. Obviously, the last Administration came to an abrupt end, so its legislation on this matter was not dealt with. The Prohibition on Use by Children of Sunbeds and Tanning Devices Bill 2012 proposed much of what we are doing today. We might have amended that instead of waiting two years to go ahead with the one before us. That is one moan.

Another moan is the one the Irish Cancer Society would have articulated to the Minister directly. While the society welcomes the Bill as a step forward in cancer prevention and dealing with cancer generally, it has raised a clear issue concerning skin types. I refer not only to young people under 18, the argument in respect of whom goes without saying, but also to all people with skin types I and II on the Fitzpatrick scale, who have fairer skin. Most people in Ireland have these skin types. I contend that they should be prohibited from using sunbeds because they are more susceptible to skin cancer.

The increase in the incidence in cancer in recent years is such that it is clearly not attributable to the amount of sunshine we get in Ireland or the number of foreign holidays we take. The rate has increased by approximately 70% over the past ten years. I am sure the Minister covered some of these statistics himself. There were 8,145 new cases in 2009, and the number has risen since then. The global incidence of cancer is predicted to increase from 14.1 million cases per annum in 2012 to 25 million per annum in two decades. Some 70% of cases will be in African, Central American and South American countries, because they are as not as far up the curve on prevention as countries such as Ireland. That is not to say, however, that we do not have a very long distance to go to beat the scourge of cancer, which is what we all yearn to do. Perhaps on Committee Stage the Minister could revisit this issue to ensure those with skin types I and II do not use sunbeds, because they are in greater danger. I am sure the tanning shops and others in the business will have a vested interest in arguing against my proposal. That is fine - let them argue against it - but it should be remembered the Irish Cancer Society’s vested interest is not in any way related to profit or lifestyle but to saving lives. We ought to take this on board.

I am sure there is regular contact between the relevant officials in the Department and the Irish Cancer Society. I suggest that the Minister do as I propose. If he were to come forward with an amendment along the lines proposed by the society, he would certainly have the support of this side of the House and, I am sure, the other.

On the subject of dealing with the many different forms of cancer, sporadic news reports state that a cure for cancer is so many years away and getting closer all the time. More people are surviving with the right treatment. How is it that we are so close to a cure, considering the incidence is increasing to the point at which it is to reach 25 million per annum over the next two decades, as opposed to 14 million per year at present? The number of deaths is predicted to increase from 8 million to 15 million in the same period.

We all hear about the number of young people getting cancer. A young person in their 40s in my community has primary colon cancer with secondaries in the liver and lung. We have all heard such stories in our communities. People ask whether there is something in our water or air, or whether living close to a mountain has an influence, not to mention mobile phones and pylons. Are we investing sufficiently in research in the first instance? While we acknowledge that there is a link between cancer and lifestyle and that there are certain steps we can take, there is really no explanation in some instances. We hear about people who lead model lives in terms of diet and aerobic exercise but who are cut down by cancer.

The Minister went through the issues in the Bill, all of which we welcome. I would ask him to examine just that one issue concerning skin types.

The national cancer control programme is much celebrated as a successful clinical programme by the Minister and the HSE following the previous Government's work on cancer. I am from the north west where there is an issue in that regard. We are all for centres of expertise and excellence, and are not looking for the Mayo Clinic on every street corner or anything like that. People like the Minister, speech writers and officials take solace in the old cross-Border line, that "We are co-operating with our colleagues across the Border on this, that or the other." However, the absence of radiotherapy in the broader north-west region is an issue.

In the old regime, people could be treated in the Beacon Clinic for a form of cancer and the scans were shared with their colleagues in Pittsburgh. They determined together what the diagnosis and treatment might be. The national cancer control programme was established by Professor Tom Keane, who did the same work in northern Canada. They had centres of expertise there but further north in St. George - with a similar catchment to Sligo of about 260,000 - they put in a satellite radiotherapy centre. That would surely present challenges here. It cost about €10 million to put in place and €2 million annually to run it, not to mention the challenge of getting health professionals to run it. Nevertheless, at some stage, some Government will acknowledge this and set it as an aspiration that we ought to put in place. It could be the Minister's decision and it would be a good thing to do. It might go some way towards healing the divide, the pain and all of the lies from the pre-election promises on cancer.

It has been done in northern Canada. Professor Tom Keane said there was a gaping hole up there with no radiotherapy. They kept the centres of expertise for those requiring surgery who could then return home to convalesce. If they subsequently needed eight minutes of radium per day that could be delivered locally. The national cancer control programme has the motto "Centrally developed but locally delivered". The Minister might consider those points.

As the Minister has done, we commend the Bill to the House. Perhaps he might consider that one amendment on Committee Stage.