I propose to take Questions Nos. 395, 449, 450, 461 and 501 together.
BowelScreen, the National Bowel Screening Programme, is run by the HSE's National Screening Service. It offers free bowel screening to men and women aged 60-69. The BowelScreen Round One Programme Report, 2012-2015, launched last month, shows that 521 cancers were detected through bowel screening, 3 out of 4 of which were detected at an early stage of cancer development.
The BowelScreen programme is adequately funded and strenuous efforts are being made to improve the uptake rate of this free service, particularly among men who have lower rates of participation but significantly higher rates of cancer detection compared to women. These efforts include digital and social media initiatives, as well as targeted radio and press advertisements. The BowelScreen website (www.bowelscreen.ie) also provides much information and allows people to check that they are on the register. Also, a range of information leaflets, posters and flyers are available to healthcare professionals.
BowelScreen moved from the initial three year round, to a two year round of screening in 2016. The extension of BowelScreen to the 55-74 age range will be considered in the future in the light of the experience of the current programme and available resources.