Vol. 550 No. 4
377 Dr. Upton asked the Minister for Health and Children if he will review an advertisement issued by his Department on behalf of BreastCheck (details supplied) in view of the fact that this advertisement is misleading as the screening service is not available to Irish women. [8658/02]
My Department has been advised by BreastCheck that since January 2002 it has organised two 30-second radio commercials on its screening services. Both of these commercials clearly state that BreastCheck offers free screening to women aged between 50 to 64 living in the Eastern region, North Eastern and Midland Health Board areas. As this is the current situation in relation to phase one of the national breast screening programme run by BreastCheck, I fail to see how these commercials are misleading.
It is essential that the national breast screening programme is driven by international quality assurance and best practice and the experience gained in phase one will facilitate the process of planning and organising the roll-out of the programme nationwide. BreastCheck is currently in discussion with health boards concerning expansion of the programme nationwide. My Department will continue to support BreastCheck in moving to nationwide coverage as soon as possible.
