Kieran O'Donnell (Limerick City, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator for raising this matter and sharing her own personal story. It was very brave.

I am taking this matter on behalf of my colleague the Minister for Health, Deputy Carroll MacNeill. Successive national cancer strategies have delivered continuing improvements in our outcomes for cancer patients.The benefit of our strategic approach to cancer control is shown by the improvement in the number of patients living after receiving a cancer diagnosis, which currently is 220,000 compared with 150,000 when the strategy was brought to the Government in 2017. Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women in Ireland, accounting for approximately 30% of invasive cancers in women. Almost 4,000 cases of breast cancer were diagnosed in Ireland in 2022. Of these, almost 60% were diagnosed at symptomatic breast disease clinics, SBDs, and one third were detected through screening. Fortunately, survival rates of breast cancer have improved. The most recent data indicate a five-year survival rate of 88% for people diagnosed between 2014 and 2018.

Of course the stage of diagnosis has a significant impact on survival rates and early diagnosis often leads to better outcomes. The Senator made that abundantly clear in her presentation, and in the case of the other women she spoke about as well. Symptomatic breast disease clinics are run in each of the designated cancer centres. In one networking centre, GPs or treating physicians can refer patients to an SBD when they have concerns. To support GPs in this referral process, the national cancer control programme, NCCP, developed a referral guideline and a referral form. This guideline facilitates GPs to identify the signs and symptoms most suspicious of cancer and covers all ages.

Each year approximately 45,000 women are seen in clinics. Patients who have been referred are triaged in SBDs, according to symptoms, as either urgent or non-urgent. Advances in cancer detection and treatment have been achieved with sustained investment in our health services. In budget 2025 an additional €23 million was secured for the national cancer strategy. This will mean over €105 million has been invested in the strategy since 2017. It has enabled recruitment of more than 670 staff to our national cancer services. The Government is committed to supporting our population screening programmes. The programme for Government identifies several priorities, including the BreastCheck programme. Page 87 of the programme for Government, under the heading of "cancer", states that the Government will extend the ages for the BreastCheck screening programme in line with updated standards from HIQA.

In budget 2025 some €2.8 million was allocated to the BreastCheck screening programme for new staff and resources to assist in expanding the footprint of the programme. An increase in staffing will allow additional capacity to meet increased demand. This is in addition to the significant investment in cancer screening in women's health that has been made in recent years.

The screening programme has changed over time according to the evidence. Most changes to Ireland's programme are facilitated through established evidence-driven protocols and the national screening advisory committee, NSAC. The independent expert group provides advice to the Minister for Health. Having a rigorous evidence-based process in place ensures our screening programmes are effective and quality assured. It also ensures that the benefits of screening outweigh the potential harms. The NSAC has requested that an assessment be undertaken of available evidence and the lowering of the age for BreastCheck programmes. HIQA will begin this project this year, as the Senator referenced in her contribution, and this will inform future decisions on the change in ages. There is a specific commitment in the programme for Government to look to extend the age for the BreastCheck screening programme in line with updated standards from HIQA. The Government remains committed to the implementation of the national cancer strategy in order to continue to build and improve services and better outcomes for patients, particularly women in terms of breast cancer.