Brendan Griffin (Kerry South, Fine Gael)
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Question 192: To ask the Minister for Health his views on the recent report by the OECD regarding Irish cancer survival rates; if he is concerned at the findings; how he proposes to improve our survival rates in relation to all cancers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38181/11]

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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The OECD's Health At A Glance 2011: OECD Indicators presents the most recent comparable data on key indicators of health and health systems across OECD countries. This includes data on cancer incidence, mortality and five-year relative survival. While it is welcome that the report mentions notable increases in breast cancer survival rates in Ireland, it also shows that survival rates for cervical, breast and colorectal cancer lag behind the OECD average, with the five-year survival rate for cervical cancer being the lowest in the OECD 16.

These data refer to cancers detected in 2004 or latest available year (cancers diagnosed in 2001-2003 in the case of Ireland) and followed up until 2008. For this reason the establishment of the National Cancer Control Programme (NCCP) in late 2007 and the subsequent changes in the organisation and delivery of cancer services in Ireland within the eight cancer centres are not yet reflected in these data. International evidence shows that the best outcomes for cancer patients are achieved by specialist teams in specialist settings, with access to ongoing education, training, research and peer review. Accordingly, the NCCP has been working to centralise diagnosis and treatment for cancer in eight designated cancer centres and has made considerable progress in this area.

Cancer screening is also key to improving survival and can play a role both in prevention (cervical and colorectal screening) as well as early detection. The OECD data do not reflect the introduction in 2008 of CervicalCheck, which last year screened 329,000 women, or the completion of the national roll-out of BreastCheck, which in 2010 screened over 118,000 women. In addition to these programmes, work is continuing on the introduction of a national colorectal cancer screening programme in mid-2012. These measures should be reflected in improved Irish cancer survival rates in the coming years.