We are talking about whether people in this country get seen, get treated and get a fair chance or whether they are left waiting, worrying and wondering if the system will fail them again. We have a national cancer strategy but only one out of 23 objectives has actually been delivered. Many Deputies have spoken today about personal tragedies when it comes to cancer. A cancer diagnosis is a dark moment in a person's life. It is not always a very dark journey but it certainly is a dark moment and a great difficulty. My mother died of cancer at 54 years of age - a young woman. At that time, which was 30 years ago, I thought 54 was a great age but I am above that age myself now so I find it to be a very young age. It was a young age at that time too but, unfortunately, it got the best of us - a strong woman. We have a delivery problem, with patients paying the price. We have people missing chemotherapy and radiotherapy timelines and people waiting far too long for breast, lung and prostate surgeries. Depending on where you live, your access to care can swing from 60% to 95%. That is nothing short of a postcode lottery. We are short of scanners and staff and we are not even using the equipment we have properly, yet the Government could not even ring-fence funding in half the budgets. If it is not ring-fenced, it is not guaranteed and if it is not guaranteed, it is not going to be delivered. Independent Ireland is calling for simple practical tips, such as using hospitals in the evenings and at weekends, training and keeping our staff here, replacing outdated equipment and supporting patients properly. Obviously, parking charges are a huge difficulty for people battling cancer. There needs to be a clear focus on that, including on family members who are visiting them. It is hard enough to be hit in one way but to be hit in the pocket as well is very unfair. There is one thing we need to spend some time thinking and talking about here. We talk about a caring Government or a caring country but why are cancer patients not getting medical cards just for the duration of their disease, which could be six or 12 months? It hurts quite a lot of people coming to me. It sounds as if we are racist but we are not. People are coming in from around the world and we are nearly handing medical cards out to them at the airport when there are people who have worked hard all their life and cannot get them. People can apply and the hospital can apply but the disease has to be terminal or extremely serious before they get the medical card. I had a dispute here with the previous Minister of State on that issue. That Minister of State was wrong. We know that because we are the people who are making the applications and we know they are being turned down. Sometimes I worry about whether people are going to get a medical card because of their prognosis. It might not be the best for them and that is not good enough. This country needs to work in that direction so that if people can prove they have cancer, their illness is covered for the period of time they have it. If we cannot move towards that, then this is not a caring society. I need to commend one sector. I was part of this organisation some time back. Cancer Connect in west Cork started under Local Link and has run an incredible service over the past number of years under Helen O'Driscoll and her team in the office in Bantry. They are taking people every day for cancer treatment free of charge. They are picked up at the door if it is a more serious cancer where the person cannot be in the bus. If it involves chemotherapy, the person is picked up in Castletownbere, Mizen Head and Sheep's Head or wherever and the team works its way up through Clonakilty, Skibbereen, Bandon and Bantry. It is free of charge and all of it is done to perfection. They wait for them for a short period, everyone is looked after and all of them are put back on the bus back to west Cork in the evening. It is a fantastic service. I think other counties are copying it. This is something we built about 15 or 20 years ago and it is a really powerful service that has really delivered.

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