Vol. 568 No. 1
542 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Health and Children if he proposes to extend the age limit of the national breast screening programme by five years following recommendations made recently by the European Commission as reported in a publication (details supplied). [15492/03]
The Commission proposal referred to by the Deputy is for a Council recommendation on mammography screening for breast cancer in women aged 50 to 69 years of age. This proposal was noted at the most recent Council of Ministers meeting on 2 June last and discussions are ongoing at EU level in relation to this issue.
In March, I announced plans for the national extension of BreastCheck. Under the extension, approximately 130,000 women in the target population 50 to 64 years of age will be eligible for screening. The programme expects to diagnose approximately 400 cancers per annum among this population. Following such extension and when the programme is sufficiently developed and it is assured that a quality service can be delivered at national level, consideration will be given to including older women and continuing the screening of women already in the programme who have reached 65 years of age.
Any woman, irrespective of her age or residence, who has immediate concerns or symptoms should contact her GP who, where appropriate, will refer her to the symptomatic services in her area.
