Duncan Smith (Dublin Fingal, Labour)
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2501.To ask the Minister for Health the projected cost of introducing screening for lung, prostate and gastric cancers, respectively; his plans for same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33318/24]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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As Minister for Health, I am fully committed to supporting our population screening programmes, which are a valuable part of our health service, enabling early treatment and care for many people, and improving the overall health of our population.

Any decisions about further changes or expansion of cancer screening will be made on the advice of the National Screening Advisory Committee (NSAC). This independent expert group considers and assesses evidence in a robust and transparent manner, and against internationally accepted criteria. It is important we have rigorous processes in place to ensure our screening programmes are effective, quality assured and operating to safe standards, and that the benefits of screening outweigh the harms.

I would stress that careful consideration be given to any proposed expansion of Ireland’s screening programmes and that this process must be afforded the necessary amount of time to complete. In this regard, I am pleased to report that NSAC is already progressing work on the further expansion of our cancer screening programmes and has submitted requests to the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) to examine the evidence for such.

Health Technology Assessments (HTA) facilitate the assessment of relevant evidence and knowledge on the effects and consequences of healthcare technologies to guide decisions regarding the appropriate use of technology and efficient allocation of resources. They involve a multi-disciplinary assessment of the clinical, economic, ethical, legal and societal perspectives that may be impacted by the introduction of a new technology. They are time intensive and rigorous processes.

HIQA is currently focused on two HTA processes underway to examine the expansion of the BowelScreen programme and the potential development of a new population-based screening programme for Abdominal Aortic Aneurism (AAA). Additional evidence reviews on the expansion of the BreastCheck programme and the potential development of a screening programme for Familial Hypercholesterolemia are expected to commence once the ongoing HTAs have concluded.

Under Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan, an updated European Council Recommendation on cancer screening was published in December 2022. The Recommendation calls for the further expansion of cervical, breast and colorectal (bowel) cancer screening as well as feasibility studies on future screening programmes for gastric, prostate and lung cancer. NSAC will consider this Recommendation and advise myself and my Department on the evidence as it applies to Ireland.

Ireland is involved in a four-year EU4Health-funded Joint Action project, titled EUCanScreen, which commenced on 1 June 2024. The project is aimed at coordinating research activities associated with the updated European Council Recommendation across Europe. This includes research relating to the sustainability of cancer screening programmes, data monitoring and the barriers/facilitators to screening. The evidence gained through the EUCanScreen project will help to inform future cancer screening policy in Ireland.

Finally, it is important to note that population health screening measures are not individual diagnostic tests. Screening is for people who do not have symptoms. Anyone who is worried about symptoms at any time is advised not to wait for screening but to contact their GP immediately, for appropriate follow-up care.