Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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1122. To ask the Minister for Health the number of persons who have been invited to take part in BowelScreen since the programme began in 2012; the number who have taken part; the number of incidences of bowel cancer detected; in the target cohort, that is, women and men aged 60 to 69 years, the take-up as a percentage of the overall number of persons in that age group; the incidence of false positives; when the programme will be expanded to cover the 55 to 74 age group; if this will be done in phases; the age cohorts concerned; and when it is expected the programme will be rolled out to each one; in each response, where appropriate, if he will provide responses that break down between women and men; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32112/15]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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BowelScreen commenced in November 2012 and is being introduced nationally on a phased basis to men and women aged 60-69 years. The first full round of screening for this cohort will be completed at the end of 2015. Thereafter the programme will move from the current 3 year round to screening every 2 years, in line with international best practice. It is envisaged that the programme will be expanded over time, in line with available resources, until the full 55-74 age group is covered.

Fully validated statistics will not be available until the first round of screening is complete. The provisional figures are as follows: