Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent)
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Question 240: To ask the Minister for Health and Children if the agreements and regulations will allow the collocated private hospital to provide oncology services and in particular breast care oncology services; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25223/07]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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The collocation initiative is designed to ensure that private beds in public hospitals are freed up for the use of public patients by having collocated private hospital beds built on public hospital sites. In service terms, this means that collocated hospitals will provide a full range of acute services to private patients, subject to limited exceptions, such as national specialties and services that require minimum caseloads and adherence to other standards to ensure patient safety and quality. In these exceptional cases, the public hospital system will continue to provide such services to private as well as public patients. In respect of cancer services specifically, in line with the National Cancer Control Strategy, I would expect that these will only be provided in centres that meet minimum standards, such as the recently approved National Quality Assurance Standards for Symptomatic Breast Disease Services, irrespective of whether these centres are publicly or privately financed and managed.