Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 28 September 2023
271. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health if the national cancer screening taskforce intends to update the screening guidelines to reduce the age of bowel cancer screening; the timeline the taskforce is working towards; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41969/23]
View answerAs 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.
The Programme for Government commits to expanding the age range for BowelScreen to those aged 55 to 74, and the HSE plans to commence this in October 2023 with expansion to those aged 59, in addition to the current age range of 60 to 69.
Any decisions about changes in cancer screening, including further extension of the age ranges, 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 to the Deputy that careful consideration must 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. This includes ensuring that decisions are made based on internationally accepted criteria and scientific rigour.
In this regard, I am pleased to report that the Committee is already progressing work on the further expansion of our cancer screening programmes and has asked HIQA to evaluate the evidence for the further expansion of the age range eligibility for both the BowelScreen and BreastCheck programmes.
Under Europe’s Beating Cancer Plan, an updated European Council Recommendation on cancer screening was published in December 2022. This recommends extended screening for colorectal (bowel) cancer and breast cancer, along with other recommendations in relation to cervical, lung, prostate and gastric cancer screening. The NSAC will consider this Recommendation and advise myself and my Department on the evidence as it applies to Ireland.
Ireland will also be actively engaged with the significant ongoing collaborative work at European level to take forward the updated Recommendation on cancer screening.
