Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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180. To ask the Minister for Health to detail the existing clinical recommendations in respect of bowel screening, that is, what ages should we be screening and what age groups we are screening; and the cost of extending the bowel screen programme to meet the existing clinical guidance. [43307/24]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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As this is a service matter, it has been referred to the Health Service Executive for attention and direct reply to the Deputy.

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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181. To ask the Minister for Health to provide an update on the current lung cancer screening pilot; the patients being screened; when the pilot will be complete; and the purpose of the pilot. [43308/24]

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, including the introduction of a lung cancer screening programme, 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.

Careful consideration must be given to any proposed expansion of Ireland’s screening programmes and 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 with work on the further expansion of our current 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 multidisciplinary 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).

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.

My Department is aware of the involvement of Irish-based researchers in three pilot projects aimed at exploring the feasibility of screening programmes for gastric (TOGAS), prostate (PRAISE-U) and lung (SOLACE) cancers. The evidence gained through these research initiatives will help to inform future cancer screening policy in Ireland.

It is necessary to highlight that my department is not coordinating the pilot projects. Therefore, I recommend that the deputy approach the researcher involved in the Lung Health Check pilot, part of the SOLACE project, for further information on its status.

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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182. To ask the Minister for Health to detail the existing clinical guidance for BreastCheck screening. [43309/24]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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As this is a service matter, it has been referred to the Health Service Executive for attention and direct reply to the Deputy.