I welcome the motion put down by Deputy Cullinane and Sinn Féin. I acknowledge the personal testimony shared by Members throughout the debate. It is really appreciated and I know it will matter to a lot of people. Today’s motion is very timely, coming just a week after Daffodil Day when people across the country showed solidarity with those affected by cancer. People across this House showed the same solidarity by wearing daffodils and meeting local cancer survivors and advocates here in Leinster House 2000. I am very conscious that when representatives of the Irish Cancer Society come here, we all take pictures and share them but they expect us to take decisions. The decisions they are asking for are reflected in today’s motion. After the failure to deliver the last strategy, there can be no more delay. We need a new national cancer strategy for 2027 to 2037 backed with proper ring-fenced multi-annual funding, including an additional €30 million a year in new development funding, as the motion sets out. Cancer touches every family in this country. People should not be left waiting when they are diagnosed, at a time already filled with so much stress and uncertainty, but that is exactly what is happening. In 2025, 45% of breast cancer surgeries did not happen on time, while 39% of lung cancer surgeries and 61% of prostate cancer surgeries were delayed in 2024. It is not just surgery: 23% of radiotherapy patients and 15% of chemotherapy patients did not receive treatments within their target timeframes either. Those are not small gaps. Behind every one of those statistics, there are real people who have been left waiting when time matters. In our role, how often do we knock on a person’s door to be told such a story? It happens too often in my constituency. The most recent implementation review found that only one of 23 national cancer strategy objectives had been met. Nearly a decade later, we are below the EU average for MRI, CT and PET scanners. This is not pressure on the system; it is a systematic, documented failure of investment and follow-through. We know that cancer does not impact communities evenly. In more deprived areas, including parts of the north inner city which I represent, there are significantly higher rates of lung and cervical cancer. Those communities have historically been under-served by screening and early detection. We learned that BreastCheck only screened 75% of its anticipated numbers in 2025, having already accounted for a 30% drop-off in invitations. We know that the women least likely to be reached are often those who need it most. We cannot allow inequality in outcomes to deepen because of a failure to invest in infrastructure, equipment and community-level screening. That is exactly how a postcode lottery becomes permanent. Alongside all of this, there is the crippling financial cost of diagnosis. People are not just dealing with their illness; they are also dealing with the travel costs, car-parking charges, time off work, childcare and bills. In my own constituency, the operator of the Mater Hospital car park charges €15 a day. That is an outrageous cost to someone attending daily for treatment. I live less than half a kilometre away from the Mater Hospital. It is all too frequent that I get a phone call from a relative, a friend or someone asking if there is any free parking available in the locality. You often see people parking far away from the Mater Hospital and walking to it because of the cost of car parking. Some of these are people in the middle of cancer treatment. That is why the practical measures in this motion matter. We need to abolish hospital car-parking charges, increase medical card thresholds in line with GP visit cards, properly fund discretionary medical cards and place Sláintecare waiting time targets into law so that access to care is not optional but guaranteed and can be vindicated through the courts if that basic necessity is not met through the allocation of budget resources. Cancer already takes enough from people and their families. The system should not add to that burden. Before I conclude, I acknowledge the healthcare workers who do immense and incredible work. People often share their stories and talk about the great service they received from individuals within the system. This motion is incredibly reasonable. It is timely and necessary and we support it. I know the Minister of State supports it in theory, but we need follow-through from the Government as a whole.

Sentiment score: -0.15