Pat Casey (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome our special guests in the Gallery and the Minister of State. Fianna Fáil welcomes the Bill, which was put forward by my colleagues, Senators Ardagh and Buttimer. It seeks to end the discrimination cancer survivors face when trying to access financial services. Research from the Irish Cancer Society has shown that nearly a quarter of people affected by cancer are unable even to get a quotation for a financial product such as a mortgage or life insurance.

A cancer diagnosis, and the treatment that follows, is a major life-changing event for any individual. When people enter remission and are clear of cancer, they have a difficult road ahead to get their normal life back and enjoy the time they missed while undergoing treatment. For young people, especially, once they are cancer-free, they will be eager to move on with their life by starting a family or buying their own home. It is unthinkable that financial institutions would punish people for previously having cancer if they try to get a mortgage for a home. It is unfair that the financial system would work against former cancer patients in this way when they have already suffered enough as a result of their illness. The Bill seeks to change previous legislation to ensure no individual will have to declare a cancer diagnosis five years after finishing active treatment. It will ensure that institutions offering mortgage credit, health insurance, travel insurance or any personal insurance product will not be able to discriminate against cancer survivors. This is at the very least common decency the financial system can be expected to show people who have experienced cancer.

My colleague, Senator Ardagh, together with Senator Buttimer, is putting the Bill forward on behalf of the Oireachtas cross-party group on cancer, which is made up of Members from all parties, including the Green Party, the Labour Party, the Social Democrats and People Before Profit-Solidarity. Senator Ardagh hopes we can continue to work in a bipartisan manner to proceed with the Bill for the benefit of cancer survivors across the country. Ms Rachel Morrogh of the Irish Cancer Society, who is one of our guests in the Gallery, said in response to the publication of the Bill:

No cancer patient should be financially penalised for having survived cancer. Imagine being a survivor of a childhood cancer and years later being denied what many consider to be rites of passage to adulthood such as getting a mortgage, getting life insurance and even travelling abroad.

Survivors feel that they are being punished for their past diagnosis through hefty premiums and, in some cases, denial of cover. The Irish Cancer Society has previously called for legislative action rather than self-regulation by the insurance industry, which it considers to be too weak a tool to address the difficulties currently experienced by cancer survivors.

The publication of today's Bill is a welcome step in the right direction towards the fairer treatment of people impacted by cancer, and we are optimistic that it will receive the support of all parties as it goes through the Houses.

She thanked the cross-party Oireachtas group for its work on progressing the Bill.

The passage of the Bill would see Ireland become the latest EU country to implement the right to be forgotten initiative, alongside France, Portugal and the Benelux countries. This move has been welcomed by another of our distinguished guests in the Gallery, Mr. Sam Russell. Senator Gavan spoke about the experience of a person who is a survivor of thyroid cancer. Mr. Russell, who survived the same cancer, has said:

As someone living with thyroid cancer, I know I will go on to live a healthy life as outcomes for this condition are excellent. After I finished treatment two years ago, I realised how it would impact my life. I don't have life insurance and I'll need mortgage protection in the coming years when I go to buy a house, but at the moment I have no certainty as to whether I'll be offered coverage when that point comes. It will be a roll of the dice, and it's unfair as I'm being punished for something that's not my fault.

We need to look at this issue in the context of what is happening in Europe. With the introduction of this Bill, we are only following what is happening elsewhere. Earlier this year, the European Parliament called for the right to be forgotten to be provided to all EU patients within ten years of finishing treatment for cancer. In its Europe's Beating Cancer Plan, published in February 2021, the European Commission promises to:

...closely examine practices in the area of financial services (including insurance) from the point of view of fairness towards cancer survivors [in the long term]. In the short term, the Commission will work with relevant stakeholders to address access to financial products for cancer survivors.

In May 2022, the EU health Commissioner announced an EU-wide right to be forgotten and committed, under Europe's Beating Cancer Plan, to the next steps, which are to engage with stakeholders and gather further information and insights with the aim of establishing and adopting an EU code of conduct in the area by 2024. A considerable amount of work is being done at European level. We have started that work in Ireland today and it is important that we continue it. I acknowledge and congratulate Senators Ardagh and Buttimer on the work they have done. As somebody else said, we all know somebody who has been impacted by cancer and we do not know who will be diagnosed tomorrow morning. It could be any one of us. It is important that this legislation passes through the House.