Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 30 April 2024
702. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health his views on the letter addressed to him from leading cancer experts regarding the National Cancer Strategy (details supplied); to respond to their concerns. [19185/24]
View answerAs Minister for Health, I have supported the National Cancer Strategy with substantial funding of €40m on for national cancer services and €30m increased funding for cancer screening, which includes €20m for the establishment of a National Cervical Screening Laboratory.
There has been over €300m in cumulative additional funding for cancer treatment and screening services allocated to the Strategy since 2017. This funding has enabled the recruitment of over 670 staff to our national cancer services since 2017, including an additional 200 nursing staff, 100 consultants, and 180 health and social care professionals in designated cancer centres. This means that our national cancer services have been strengthened, that more patients are receiving treatment, and that waiting times to access treatment are reduced.
Capital funding of over €120m has been used to provide state of the art radiation oncology facilities in Galway and Cork, and to update cancer infrastructure in chemotherapy wards and lab facilities for the benefit of patients. In the past three years, additional investment of €98m into new medicines has included approvals for 61 cancer drugs, and the total spend on cancer drugs in the last 3 years has been over €600m. New treatments such as CAR T-cell therapy, radiolabelled therapy, and specialised radiotherapy treatments are now available for the first time in Ireland.
This is the third National Cancer Strategy, and the success of the strategic approach to cancer is shown by the number of patients living after receiving a cancer diagnosis which has increased to over 215,000 people, compared to 150,000 when the Strategy was brought to Government in 2017. Survival rates for patients diagnosed with cancer have continued to improve, with 65% of patients living five years after being diagnosed with cancer between the years 2014-2018, compared to 44% diagnosed in 1994-1998. This improvement in survival rates is supported by findings of the National Cancer Registry Ireland, which collects population-based data on all cancer incidence, treatment, and survival in Ireland.
Supports are being provided for people living with and beyond cancer in the local community through the Alliance of Community Cancer Support Centres, which has been allocated €3m in funding for 2024.
Funding for current expenditure, including the National Cancer Strategy, is allocated on an annual (single-year) basis through the Estimates process with future levels of funding considered as part of the national estimates and budgetary process.
This Government has invested heavily in the National Cancer Strategy and associated initiatives in recent years, enabling the further development of our national cancer services, and leading to improved outcomes for cancer patients.
