Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 31 January 2007
771 Dr. Cowley asked the Minister for Health and Children the progress of the construction of the BreastCheck in the west of Ireland; the number of staff recruited; the expected opening date of the unit; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1782/07]
View answerI am committed to ensuring that the BreastCheck service is rolled out to the remaining regions in the country as quickly as possible. I have allocated additional revenue funding of €8 million for this year to meet the additional costs involved. I have also made available an additional €26.7m capital funding for the construction of two new clinical units and five additional mobile units and state of the art digital equipment. The first round of screening will commence in the South and West in the Spring which will take around 27 months to complete. The BreastCheck Programme is designed to offer repeat screening within an interval of 21-27 months.
In relation to the progress on the construction of the static unit in Galway the recruitment of staff, my Department has requested the Chief Executive Officer of the Service to respond directly to the Deputy.
