Health Screening Programmes

Over 3,500 new breast cancer cases arise in the State every year. It is absolutely shocking to say that 20% of the scheduled examinations did not take place last year. This should be seen as a red flag for Government and a huge concern for us all. The Minister needs to understand why this is happening and seek to address it immediately, whether through advertisements, education, more flexibility in the service in terms of missed appointments, and any other mechanism necessary. However, last year is not the full story of the missed targets. The missed targets over the past three years amount to 122,334. These can be taken in tandem with figures released to Sinn Féin earlier this year that show 45% of breast cancer surgeries are not happening within the recommended timeframe. With a growing and ageing population which will see the number of women eligible increase from 500,000 in 2019 to 700,000 by the end of the decade, the picture painted is one that should be deeply concerning for the future. It is not sufficient to simply increase targets and expect everything else to flow. We have seen the outworkings of that in terms of HRT, blister packs and so on. What I want to hear from the Minister of State is her comprehensive plan to set this right now - not just targets, but the substance.

In little over a week we will mark the beginning of cancer awareness month. This should be a time when we can talk about the great progress being made in fighting cancer across the State. While progress is being made in some areas, which is positive and should be strongly welcomed, the national target for mammograms has been missed for a third consecutive year, and not by any small amount; it has been missed by 46,000. That is 46,000 women who should have been scanned. While the numbers of those being scanned are reaching record highs, we must ask why these targets are being missed by such a vast amount. If breast cancer is detected at stage 1, 99% of women will survive but survival drops to 37% if detected at stage 4. Data suggests that nearly one third of women are not getting breast cancer surgery in time. Women's lives should not be a statistic. These delays are crippling families with the fear of the unknown and reducing survival rates. University Hospital Waterford's webpage states that the hospital "provides a high quality service which addresses all aspects of care for women affected by breast cancer". Therefore, what is happening? Have there been cutbacks in the hospital? What multi-annual investment in cancer care will be seen to address demand and to prevent these backlogs increasing? Behind each and every one of these figures is a mother, a daughter, a sister and a grandmother. The devastation to families caused by failures to detect breast cancer early is absolutely immense.

I thank Deputies Bennet and Newsome Drennan for this opportunity to discuss the important matter of breast screening. I am taking this Topical Issue on behalf of the Minister for Health, Deputy Carroll MacNeill. I genuinely thank the Deputies for raising it. It is really important. The more awareness we can bring to breast cancer screening, the better. It is not often I get the opportunity. I will be in the Seanad at 10.30 a.m. answering a similar question and I welcome that. I am standing here as, I assume, the only woman who has availed of BreastCheck for those aged 50 and over.

No, I have too.

The Deputy certainly does not look old enough. I am going to draw on my own lived experience in relation to this because is really important. If we only take one thing away from today it is that we urge every eligible woman to attend for breast screening when they are called as the numbers are only at 70%. The last time I attended was two years ago in the summer. I remember arriving at about 11.05 a.m., five minutes late, and I apologised to the nurse on duty who told me not to worry as I was the first person to arrive that day. She said that when the sun was shining unfortunately the screening was not a priority for people. It is really important that it is noted on the floor of the Dáil that people turn up for only two out of every three appointments. The question is what we do to improve that and to look for solutions. Enhancing Ireland's cancer screening programme is a priority for the Minister for Health and for all of us in the House. These programmes are a vital component of our health services. Breast cancer is the most common non-invasive cancer in women, with over 3,500 cases diagnosed in Ireland every year. About one third of these are detected through screening. BreastCheck, Ireland's national breast screening programme, screens women aged 50 to 69 years of age. It aims to detect breast cancer at the earliest possible stage and provide assessment and access to onward care for women who need further interventions. It operates four regional screening units and 24 mobile units serving 54 locations across the country. In 2025, BreastCheck screened 173,443 women, the highest number in its history. However, the HSE acknowledged that this was below the target it set itself for that year. The Government has made significant investments in cancer screening programmes in recent years. This includes improvements to infrastructure, staffing and technology, and the Minister for Health understands from the national screening service that these improvements include a new patient database system. This is a modern system that simplifies and streamlines workflows for BreastCheck's team. It enables real-time data tracking of screening a participant's journey and helps address the service gaps. The HSE has also implemented a streamlined appointment system and reorganised radiography staff to increase weekday appointments using its current resources. Since 2023, the NSS has recruited new consultants and senior radiographers, secured additional recruitment funding and expanded training places. BreastCheck has partnered with University College Cork to launch a postgraduate mammography certification in Ireland. This is really important because it enables mammographers to train in Ireland. Three new mobile screening units have been added since 2020, bringing the total number to 24. BreastCheck continues to commission new mobile screening units and plan for additional screening infrastructure. BreastCheck has been engaged on inviting women at higher risk, those waiting longest, newly eligible women, and women from marginalised groups who may face barriers to screening. We really want to encourage all women to attend their appointments or to reschedule them. Filling every slot helps to ensure that more women receive screenings.

As I have said before, we need to make BreastCheck more visible so people know to have their breast checks done. The HSE and BreastCheck are failing too many people, with patients on trolleys, years-long waiting lists, delayed diagnoses, overcrowding in hospitals and families just left in limbo right across the whole of the HSE, not just in BreastCheck. Just in my locality of Cavan and Monaghan this week, there has been a patient lying on the floor. I realise that it is not about BreastCheck but I thought I would bring it up with the Minister of State here today. It is absolutely horrendous that we have people lying on the floors in our hospitals and patients who cannot get their BreastCheck screenings. Despite the millions being spent by the HSE, people still are not being seen in the timely manner needed. The public deserves more in every area under the HSE. I ask the Minister of State to take this on board.

I know a woman in my community who found a lump. She went to her GP straight away. She did everything right. She got her referral for an appointment but had to wait seven weeks to be seen, only to be told then that she needed an urgent ultrasound and a mammogram but would have to wait three to four months. This was despite the presence of the lump and a history of breast cancer in her family. Her own sister had it at 36. That should be setting off alarm bells. Four months later, she got her scan and a biopsy and received a positive diagnosis of breast cancer. She has dense breast tissue and needs an MRI scan as a result. First, she was told it would take two to three weeks. A day later, she got a phone call and was told she would be waiting another eight weeks. That is over six months of waiting that this woman has had to endure, all while the cancer is growing. How is it acceptable to leave a woman waiting like that for an urgent scan? The woman, Linda, would like to ask why she is in this situation and how many more women are just like her.

As Deputies will know, I cannot talk about individual cases on the floor of the Dáil.

Nobody wants to talk about it. I sense it.

Sorry, but it is not an over-and-back. The most important thing we can do leaving here today is to encourage women, first and foremost, to avail of screening. Only 70% of BreastCheck screenings are accessed every year. That means two out of every three women avail of the service. We can all agree that we should leave here today trying to encourage people to avail of it. The second point is that one third of all breast cancers are detected through screening. I have a very good friend who, many years ago, went for her very first mammogram, was diagnosed with breast cancer and had a very positive outcome. In relation to the cases both Deputies have raised, the circumstances are simply not acceptable to me as a woman or as a Minister of State in the Department of Health. It is not a situation we want to see arising. The HSE is making every effort to expand services. The point made on visibility is important. Breast cancer is not something we should be hiding away. In Waterford, my constituency, the BreastCheck van is in the Regional Sports Centre for six months of the year and in Dungarvan Community Hospital for the other six. Every eligible woman aged from 50 to 69 in a particular area is invited to attend. Unfortunately, only two out of three do. Notwithstanding the case cited, it is important to get the message out that if a woman of any age notices a change in a breast, she should go to her GP immediately and get support in as timely a manner as possible. I thank the Deputies for raising this. It is so important that we talk about women's health on the floor of the Dáil. I will bring the Deputies' comments back to the Minister.

She knows about it. She has her email. Nobody is answering me.