I welcome the opportunity to speak on this motion. There is not a family in Ireland that has not been affected by someone belonging to them having cancer, people recovering from it or, sadly, some of their loved ones passing away. When the strategy was done, we were going to have centres of excellence. A centre of excellence in Galway should be the same as one in Dublin, Cork or anywhere else in the country. We have failed abysmally. Go to Galway and look at the lab that people have to work in and then go to some of the places here in Dublin. Go to the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach's local hospital in Limerick and see what happens. It is disgraceful that parts of the country are being left behind. Think of a person in Donegal who has to go to Galway for treatment by bus and then travel home again. In this day and age, that is not on. A person in the north west or the west should not be left behind. People are being left behind. It is not the fault of consultants or nurses. They are doing the best they can. However, people are not able to get chemotherapy. The statistics and the facts show that they are not getting chemotherapy at the times they are supposed to be getting it. Have a look at the capital plan. What funding under the capital plan was put into the west of Ireland in the past ten years in comparison with other areas? Anyone can look at it. It is a disgrace what has happened. I was at a meeting in Galway. We, as politicians, went to hear Professor Kerin, an expert, speak. He stated that if you are in the west of Ireland, you have a lesser chance of survival than in any other part of the country. That was a damning statement. We listen to people, day in, day out, telling us about treatment being delayed. That is not good enough. Even in Galway, they have to send some of their patients to Dublin for more expert treatment. Centres of excellence should be in all parts of the country. A centre of excellence should not at my backdoor, no more than at anyone else's. These centres should be located in all parts of the country in order to help people. We also need to be mindful of people. As Deputy Collins and others stated, it is a stressful time when a person is told that they have cancer. Medical cards should automatically be given to people instead of them having to fight for them. The only way you will get a card urgently at present is if you have a terminal illness. We need to look at that. There is another part to this. People with cancer cannot work. Thankfully, many people recover from cancer. That needs to be said. However, while they are going through treatment, be it radiotherapy or chemotherapy, they may have to have operations. It is a minimum of 12 months, and at times longer, where they are out of work, where an income is not coming in and where they have to attend hospital appointments. Even after therapy, they still have to attend hospital appointments. As for funds, they struggle to keep going. We have got to be mindful of that. I ask that the relevant Ministers look at the state of cancer services and hospital infrastructure in general. The hospital infrastructure in Galway is abysmal. We deserve better. It is not just Galway; it is the entire west and north west.

Sentiment score: -0.02

It is a damnable thing to say that Galway hospital does not have a PET scanner. Imagine that. A private hospital up the road has one, but the main hospital, the centre of excellence, does not. It is time that money was invested.

Sentiment score: 0.09