79. Deputy Pádraig Rice asked the Minister for Health the steps she is taking to address the serious deficits in staffing and equipment in public radiation therapy services; if she will instruct the HSE to offer all radiation therapy graduates employment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [52861/25]

Sentiment score: -0.02

I wish to ask the Minister about cancer services. Over 50% of cancer patients require radiation therapy at some point in their care. It is routinely used to treat the most common types of cancer such as breast, cervical and lung cancers. It is the cornerstone of modern cancer treatment and yet, it is neglected. We have ageing machines. In other areas, newer machines have no staff to operate them. Qualified radiation therapists cannot get jobs and there are shocking levels of outsourcing to the private sector. As of July, €17 million has been spent this year alone contracting-out radiation therapy. What action will the Minister take to address deficits in both staffing and equipment?

Sentiment score: -0.32

First, on machinery, I accept there is a replacement programme under way for St. Luke's but why are machines breaking down before action is taken? The internationally accepted lifespan for a treatment machine is ten years but in St. Luke's, Rathgar, they have two machines that are 15 years old and another two that are almost 17 years old. They are limited to using three machines at a time. This means that a quarter of the capacity in Rathgar is being lost. Why? It is to mitigate breakdowns. These machines need to be replaced every ten years. It is entirely predictable, so why is there not a national programme in place to support a ten-year replacement programme? This ad hoc replacement of antiquated machines coming too late in the day is compromising patient safety. Nationally, 35% of machines are already 15 years old, with two more approaching 17 years old. Some 40% of machines will require replacement in the next five years and overall, 75% of the machines will require replacement now or within five years. We need greater investment and we need a programme to replace these machines.

Sentiment score: 0.08

Regarding staffing, Cork and Galway both have new builds and new machines, but not enough staff. St. Luke's network has a CT scanner with no staff, a skin cancer treatment service operating at reduced capacity because it has insufficient staff, and at the same time, we had 30 graduates in radiation therapy from Trinity College last year. Only ten of them secured posts in Ireland, a further ten left the profession, and ten more have no employment. Radiation therapy graduates need a guarantee of employment from the HSE. At the moment, we are just training them to leave the country, leave the profession or go to the private sector. We also have the ludicrous situation where radiation therapists hired by the HSE do not get incremental credit for previous service in the private sector. How can the Minister justify this policy where radiation therapists are so desperately needed? Why would they move from the private sector to take a pay cut? To address these staffing issues, we need two measures. We need a guarantee of graduate employment for those qualifying and we also need incremental credit for radiation therapists.

Sentiment score: -0.15

Graduates are looking for jobs, Minister.

Sentiment score: 0.00