Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Senator for telling those stories about the families affected by this. I see where she is coming from.

I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister for Health, Deputy Jennifer Carroll MacNeill. The Minister and I are dedicated to enhancing Ireland's population screening programmes. These play a crucial role in our health services by facilitating early treatment and thereby promoting the overall health of our community. This is a priority for the Government.

Some 3,500 women are diagnosed with breast cancer in Ireland every year. About one third of these will have cancer detected through screening. The breast cancer screening programme currently invites women between the ages of 50 and 69 to attend. The Senator mentioned that she will go for her check-up soon. It is important that everyone who receives notice to attend for a check-up does so. It is crucial that women have their mammograms.

The programme for Government commits to raising the age for breast checks in accordance with the latest standards from the Health Information and Quality Authority, HIQA. To this end, the National Screening Advisory Committee, NSCA, has asked to look at the evidence for the expansion of the age range. This is being looked at. Significant investment continues to be made in BreastCheck. This includes an additional €2.9 million allocated this year, with the approval of 22 whole-time equivalent posts. This funding will assist in increasing capacity that will enable services to develop to meet women's evolving needs and ensure equal access for all.

Regarding the question of breast density, such a measurement is currently not captured for women attending screenings, as the Senator correctly noted. However, it is part of a routine practice in the symptomatic breast disease service to include a comment on breast density in a mammogram report. If something does happen within that, it is shown on the report. Nevertheless, conflating screening for healthy people, without symptoms, with those experiencing symptoms is not appropriate. The focus on benefits for screening is on the people without symptoms, whereas for symptomatic services, it is on ensuring that individual patients requiring investigation go to their doctors if they note any symptoms.

It is also important to highlight that the potential incorporation of breast density measures in screening procedures is complex. There are contrasting clinical opinions on this matter. For example, the updated European Commission initiative on breast cancer highlights the low certainty of evidence surrounding the incorporation of the breast density measurement into the screening programmes. Additionally, I note that in the European Union, only two countries, Austria and the Czech Republic, are currently reporting the breast density measurement as part of routine breast screening. I note that the European Society of Breast Imaging, EUSOBI, recommends the offering of breast MRI screening to women with extremely dense breast tissue, which is a minority of women with denser breast tissue. The existence of contrasting significant positions reinforces the need for careful and detailed consideration of the matter. In this regard, I highlight that any proposed changes to Ireland's cancer screening programmes will be facilitated through establishing evidence-driven protocols. That is being looked at. The NSAC is the independent expert group that considers any proposed changes to screening programmes. It reviews the evidence robustly and transparently and against internationally accepted criteria before making recommendations to the Minister for Health. I am pleased to confirm that the committee has asked the Health Information and Quality Authority to review evidence for both an expansion of the age range of the BreastCheck screening as well as to consider the potential introduction of a standard breast density measurement. That is the good news today. Work is expected to start in the coming months. It is important to note that, as both elements of the review are anticipated to be complex, it will need time to complete.