Vol. 552 No. 4
24 Mr. Deasy asked the Minister for Health and Children if there is an indication from the expert group which is examining the provision of radiotherapy facilities here as to when their report will be made available; and the length of time thereafter he will be in a position to publish that report. [12525/02]
The work of the expert group on the development of radiotherapy services, which was established to examine the appropriate further development of radiotherapy services in this country, is at an advanced stage. Because of the importance and complexity of the work, it is not possible to give an exact date for publication of the report of the expert group but it is anticipated that its work will be completed in the near future, following which it will be published at the earliest date.
I wish you well, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle, in the coming weeks. You were an excellent Minister for Health in extraordinarily difficult times. May you return in a different capacity, although I am not preaching Buddhism.
I would like to be associated with those remarks.
The people of Waterford were mortified by the behaviour of a small group towards the Taoiseach when he visited the city a number of weeks ago in regard to this issue. The vast majority of the city's population take a proper and dignified approach to the matter, particularly the group that has been campaigning vigorously in this regard. We were impressed by the Minister's approach in regard to a radiotherapy unit for Waterford when we met him some time ago. If he is returned to Government in his current capacity, will he give us a commitment that the unit will be provided? Everyone in Waterford is seeking a commitment.
I thank the Deputy for his kind comments regarding a potential return to the House. I acknowledge and appreciate his comments in regard to the Taoiseach's visit to Waterford. I accept totally that the vast majority of people would not endorse the actions of a few. Our fundamental structures for radiotherapy services are poor for historical reasons. When the first National Cancer Forum was established in 1996 it conducted a review of services nationwide and recommended the beefing up of two radiotherapy centres in Dublin and Cork to attain state-of-the-art clinical excellence. It also mentioned Galway as a third possibility. That is the base from which the Department has been working over recent years.
I met a number of radiotherapists and consultants in this field who argued cogently that radiotherapy did not receive adequate consideration in the first cancer strategy and forum and felt it needed to be examined again. That is why I set up the expert group chaired by Donal Hollywood. The key issue was whether there was enough radiotherapy coverage for patients throughout the country. It is because radiotherapy is needed in a majority of cases and up to 60% of cancer patients require it at some stage that I established the expert group. Until then, there was no discussion of locating centres. That group is working well and I met the chairman recently.
I know from contacts I have had with the Minister that he is well aware of this issue. I have also had contacts with the Taoiseach on it. I also know the Minister is well aware of this issue from the meetings he has had not only with Members from Waterford but also with those from the south-east. This is not just a Waterford issue. It is a south-east one.
We must recognise the reality of the suffering people endure in travelling to and from Dublin five days a week. Not everyone can stay in Dublin. This travel requirement is an extreme hardship imposed on these people.
It does not make sense to have two strands of cancer treatment – surgery and chemotherapy – and not have a third strand of radiotherapy. One of the arguments against this is that the model being examined is a unit for every million people. The United Kingdom model has been examined, but it is a much more densely populated country than Ireland. We should examine other countries, for example, Holland, where I understand the model used is one to 500,000 people. There are 440,000 people in the south-east of this country, so we are very close to that number. Is there any way that model could be examined and for us to proceed along those lines? It would bring about the position we are trying to achieve.
We would like the Minister to consider other countries of the world with a lower population density than those cited. British Columbia has such a low density and it has radiotherapy units available to its people. Given the reasons we have outlined – the hardship involved, the pain and suffering, the awful transport system and roads between the south-east and Dublin – can the Minister give a commitment that the unit will be provided? It will be a political decision. We believe the expert group will favour the three centres the Minister named. We need a commitment that Waterford will receive such a unit.
I have asked the chairman of the expert committee to take on board the issues of access, inconvenience, hardship and upset caused to patients who must travel to Dublin and to examine the regions. I know the South-Eastern Health Board has met the expert group regarding the claim of Waterford, as has the Mid-Western Health Board regarding the claim of Limerick, and the North-Western Health Board has made its demand for facilities. We are committed to providing radiotherapy services in the regions.
We must be careful about raising expectations too high because whatever emerges from the expert group will be implemented on a phased basis. Dublin and Cork formed the original aim of the cancer forum. Much but not all of what it recommended was achieved and the expert group is examining that. A centre for Galway was announced or sanctioned in 1998, if I am not mistaken. It is still a hole in the ground because a new hospital is being built there.
One of the greatest problems is putting the human resources in place to staff and maintain a viable unit. These are practical issues which are being lost—
We must move on to the next question.
We have a hospital in Waterford.
I know that, but practical issues are being lost in the debate, such as what it would take to have a radiotherapy facility and what throughput of patients it would have.
We have exceeded the time limit.
If I establish an expert committee, there is a difficulty in writing it off with one statement. I have a dilemma in that I established such a committee and asked it for advice. When we receive it, we will consider it and take it on board in deciding how we will proceed, just as we did with the first cancer forum when it said Cork and Dublin should be dealt with first and possibly Galway some time into the future. My predecessor, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Cowen, sanctioned a radiotherapy centre for Galway. We need to expand our radiotherapy facili ties significantly going forward and we need to give greater access to the people in the regions.
Our experience as politicians tells us to beware of experts.
I accept that.
We must move on to Question No. 25. We have greatly exceeded the time limits.
