Catherine Ardagh (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State for attending the Chamber in the stead of the Minister, Deputy Donnelly. As we know, earlier in the week, a group of prominent oncologists wrote to the Taoiseach outlining the crucial need for new and recurrent multi-annual funding to the national cancer control programme in 2024 and to commit to ring-fenced funding to enable full delivery of the National Cancer Strategy 2017-2026. Why do they do this? They do this because cancer patients and survivors deserve nothing less. That is why we are here and why I am standing up and raising this issue.

Most of us are aware of the statistics, which are stark. The statistics are that one in two of us will get cancer in our lifetime. What we sometimes forget is that behind every statistic is a living, breathing person – a person with parents, children, husbands, wives, brothers, sisters, grandparents, aunts, uncles and friends. That kind of thinking puts things in a different light. It certainly adds to the urgency, and that urgency is what I would like to impress on everyone today.

We have the capacity to do this. There has been huge investment in cancer services in this country. There have been huge one-off investments. What we need and what we are looking for is ring-fenced multi-annual funding. Part of the investment in 2022 saw €35 million in extra funding to cancer services, which included €20 million for new drug development and €15 million for new cancer high-tech drugs. This is amazing and commendable.

This investment shows we can do it. It shows we got 172 staff recruited to cancer services; €20 million in new development funding for cancer services leading to improved access and reduced waiting time for patients; €3 million support for cancer surgeries helped services return to pre-pandemic 2019 volumes; €3.4 million support for rapid-access clinics increased capacity and reduced waiting times; and €3 million for chemotherapy and immunotherapy provided support for more patients to receive treatment and for the introduction of new treatment such as paediatric CAR T-cell therapy and radioligand therapy.

Increased and targeted investment in cancer services clearly benefits patients who are experiencing reduced waiting times, improved radiotherapy services and getting better care in our cancer centres. However, we have to do even more for our cancer services and continue to improve and build on the progress made so far. We know investment pays off but what we need is ring-fenced multi-annual funding.

The National Cancer Strategy 2017-2026 is our third national cancer strategy and something we should be proud of as a country. Our first strategy was established in 1996 with an aim of improving death rates in patients under 65 years of age. The second in 2006 set up the national cancer control programme, which ensured the development of cancer services would be equal for all parts of the country. The National Cancer Strategy 2017-2026 has four pillars: to invest in cancer prevention; early detection; to provide the best treatment to those with cancer; and to look after cancer survivors. In this House, I had the “right to be forgotten” Bill, which was supported by our Government and is something that really helps cancer survivors, especially when they apply for life insurance or are looking to get out a mortgage.

Despite massive funding and significant process, this strategy requires more targeted funding to meet the goals, continually improve cancer services and provide for necessary care for patients. Waiting times for screening and scans is one of my little bugbears, in particular, that needs to be looked at. For someone who is receiving a cancer diagnosis or checking if their cancer is recurring, waiting for scans and not being sure if you will get a scan is possibly one of the most stress-inducing periods of a cancer journey. Ring-fenced funding to directly improve this area is essential to ensure early detection of cancer and that patients have the best possible treatment for their lifelong journey. As we stand here, one out of every two of us has the power and potential to dramatically change the outcome for cancer patients in this country, and that person is the Minister of State and his team.

Seán Kyne (Fine Gael)
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Before I move on to the Minister of State, I welcome the pupils and teachers from Hewetson National School in Clane, County Kildare. I hope they enjoy the day and I hope the teachers treat them later on. Gabhaim buíochas leo agus tá fáilte rompu go léir.

Ossian Smyth (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
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Good morning to the young people and teachers. Just to let them know what is happening, Senator Catherine Ardagh is asking me,representing the Government, how we spend money to cure cancer. I am here on behalf of the Minister for Health to answer the question.

I thank Senator Ardagh for raising this question. Successive national cancer strategies have shown the benefits of continued investment in national cancer services. The benefits for Irish cancer patients come from earlier diagnosis, better treatment and improved rates of survival.

This Government has invested an additional €40 million into the national cancer strategy, and the total cumulative additional funding under this strategy since 2017 is €230 million. This funding has enabled the recruitment of more than 670 staff to our national cancer services since 2017, including an additional 200 nursing staff, 100 consultants and 180 health and social care professionals in designated cancer centres. Additionally, €30 million has been invested in cancer screening services since 2020, including €20 million for the development of the National Cervical Screening Laboratory, which opened in December 2022. Capital funding of €120 million has been used to provide state-of-the-art radiation oncology facilities in Cork and Galway, which opened in 2020 and 2023. This is to update cancer infrastructure in chemotherapy wards and lab facilities for the benefit of patients.

This Government has also allocated significant investment in ensuring new medicines are available for cancer patients. Funding for 61 different cancer drugs over the past three years has been made possible through an allocation of €98 million additional funding for new medicines. The total spend on cancer drugs in the past three years has been more than €600 million. Since 2020, new cancer treatments and models of care have been launched in Ireland thanks to the increased funding for the national cancer strategy. New treatments include CAR T-cell therapy for certain blood cancers, radioligy and therapy for neuroendocrine tumour patients and the stereotactic ablative radiotherapy, or SABR, an advanced radiotherapy treatment.Nine out of ten cancers are diagnosed following on from individuals presenting to their GP with symptoms. This is supported through GPs having access to electronic referral for breast, lung, prostate and suspected skin cancers. More patients are being seen now than ever before in rapid access clinics, with more than 53,000 attendances in 2023.

Early intervention in cancer is extremely important. As part of the urgent and emergency care plan this year, time-sensitive cancer surgeries are given priority where possible. The NCCP engages closely with designated centres to monitor the activity of surgical services. By the end of 2023, more than 17,000 cancer surgeries were carried out. This is in excess of 1,000 more than in 2019.

Under successive cancer strategies, there has been an improvement in cancer survival rates in Ireland. Looking back to the period between 1994 and 1998, the five-year survival rate for patients diagnosed with cancer in those years was 44%. This has now increased dramatically to 65% for people diagnosed with cancer between 2014 and 2018.

As cancer will affect one in three of us in our lifetime, support for cancer services and for cancer patients will continue to be prioritised as part of the overall health budget. This Government has invested heavily in the national cancer strategy and associated initiatives in recent years, enabling the further development of our national cancer services and leading to improved outcomes for cancer patients.

Catherine Ardagh (Fianna Fail)
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I also welcome the children from the primary school. It shows that our national cancer strategy has been hugely effective but we can always do more, particularly with regard to screening. It would be great to see the extension of lung cancer screening programmes. Every person we treat requires a yearly scan post treatment and when he or she is in remission, so it is so important we put the money and investment into ensuring post-diagnosis and post-remission scans are in place for families because people have to live through their cancer diagnosis and their cancer journey. This means when they are well. They want to know that, every year in June, they will get their scan, it is going to be fine and they can get on with their lives. Sometimes people wait years for their post-cancer scan, which is unacceptable, so we need to ensure we extend the screening programmes for breast cancer. It would be great to see the age for breast cancer screening reduced and the extension of screening to lung cancer.

Ossian Smyth (Dún Laoghaire, Green Party)
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I will raise with the Minister for Health the Senator's points about bringing in lung cancer screening and extending breast cancer screening to younger people. With regard to the Senator's point about multi-annual funding, I will ask about that in the Vote in the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform and see what the situation is because most things now involve multi-annual funding. The Senator acknowledged that most people diagnosed with cancer now survive. At the time my mother was diagnosed with cancer, most people died. That is the change and the Senator has acknowledged that.

The strategies have shown the benefit of continued investment in national cancer services and the Government has shown its commitment to implementing the national cancer strategy through significant investment in recent years. The new development funding provided in those years has been added to the total budget for cancer services and an additional €230 million since 2017 has been added through the strategy.

A total of 215,000 people living in Ireland have had a diagnosis of invasive cancer. The NCCP has progressed survivorship programmes to support improved quality of life for cancer patients. As part of this, the NCCP established the alliance of community cancer support centres. They provide guidance and support, which in turn provide psychosocial supports for cancer patients and their families in the community.

In discussing funding for our national cancer strategy, we must remember that 23,000 people receive a diagnosis of invasive cancer each year and cancer is a public health issue. One in three of us can expect to be diagnosed with cancer in our lifetime. The additional funding has gone into services under this Government and has been of direct benefit to cancer patients. This remains the top priority for this Government but I thank the Senator for the points she made, which I will raise with the Minister for Health.