Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I will agree with Senator Conway on screening, which is very important. This is an early detection and population-based screening programme for early detection of cardiovascular disease. The Minister for Health is fully committed to supporting our population screening programmes which are a valuable part of our health service. As the Senator may be aware, decisions on whether to introduce new screening programmes are made on the advice of the National Screening Advisory Committee. The committee is an independent, expert committee that makes recommendations to the Minister. I cannot reiterate how important screening is, whether one is called to BreastCheck or another screening service. It is very important that people attend because early intervention is key. As the Senator has said, many people - and we can all be guilty of this - put it on the long finger sometimes, as the Senator spoke there about blindness and sight loss, and wait until it is too late. I thank the Senator very much for his question.