I thank the Cathaoirleach for giving me the opportunity to raise this issue again. Coming from the mid-west region, I am sure he fully appreciates the importance of it.
The reply I received last November stated that the expert review group had to report to the Minister. I understand the group will probably not be reporting for at least another month, but at this stage everybody appears to be aware that they will recommend three locations for radiotherapy facilities – Galway, Dublin and Cork.
My concern has changed direction. In this case, the health board is going with what it classifies as a public private partnership with the Mater Private Hospital and the Mid-Western Development Trust will provide all the equipment. What is needed at this stage from the Government is a commitment to provide €500,000 in order to get this operational. Subsequently, expenditure was estimated at €1.5 million. The figures speak for themselves.
The population of the mid-west region is over 350,000. The Caiman-Hine report, a well known report on the radiotherapy area, projected that a population in excess of 300,000 should have its own radiotherapy facility. In this case there would be justification for two linear accelerators.
Most of the people from the Mid-Western Health Board go to St. Luke's Hospital in Dublin. This causes much extra emotional anguish. The journey is quite long, particularly if one must go to Dublin for the weekend, and extremely difficult. The Mid-Western Health Board deserves its own radiotherapy facility. We are very fortunate that the Mater Private Hospital has come on board and there is an organisation in the area which is prepared to put up the capital expenditure.
I anticipate that the Minister of State's response will be somewhat similar to that I received last November. I am putting down a marker that there will be extreme disappointment in the mid-west region if the report recommends the three locations to which I referred and Limerick is bypassed. I appeal to the Minister of State to use his good offices in making clear to the officials that we deserve this basic essential facility for the treatment of cancer patients in the mid-west region.