Catherine Ardagh (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I congratulate our former colleague, Senator, now Deputy, Ivana Bacik. I got to know her in 2016 when I became a Member of this House and she has been a pleasure to work with. She is always very kind to new Members and is a terrific role model for women of all parties and none who wish to enter politics, so I wish to put my congratulations on the record.

Today, I will raise the issue of cancer care. Unfortunately, Covid-19 has impacted severely on cancer diagnosis and treatment, with many people getting delayed diagnosis of new and returning cancers due to delayed or cancelled scans during the pandemic. It is absolutely horrendous for the patients and their families when this happens. We know that cancer care has been one of the major casualties of the pandemic. There was a massive diversion of resources from cancer care and other healthcare to Covid-19. This was the right thing to do and thanks to the stellar work of many medical professionals a massive number of lives were saved, although many lives have been lost.

I wish to raise two issues confronting people, and their families, who are facing cancer treatments. The first is inpatient charges. People are charged €80 per hospital visit for chemotherapy and the like. This is capped at ten visits, so the maximum somebody will pay is €800 per year. However, €800 per year for somebody who may not be working or who has no massive means is a huge financial burden. It is quite shocking. The inpatient cost must be capped. It affects not just people going in for cancer treatment but also people getting any treatment in hospital. Nobody would deny reaching out to cancer patients and, perhaps, reviewing the payment they have to make.

The second issue is the hospital car parking charges. I know the Government is looking at capping them and giving some concessions in public hospitals for people with cancer, but this should be considered immediately and introduced as soon as possible. Perhaps the Leader will raise that issue.