Cancer Services
Seanad Éireann — 2026-01-27
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Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (FF), Carlow-Kilkenny

What the Senator said is important for women waiting on this surgery. I assure her that the Department and HSE are working on reducing waiting times for this surgery. While immediate reconstruction can avoid a second hospital procedure - I think that is more important - delayed reconstruction allows for more time for decision making and can ensure that necessary cancer therapies are not delayed. Successive national cancer strategies have delivered a continued improvement in the outcomes for cancer patients. Since the beginning of the national cancer strategy in 2017, the Government has allocated €105 million to support cancer services and improve outcomes for patients. Under this investment, more patients are being seen in the specialist centre and more patients are being reviewed.
New drugs and therapies are being made available and patients are receiving better support with their cancer treatment.
I ask the Senator to give me the lady's details because her case is one that we need to look into, particularly as the Senator said that she has gone back down to the end of the waiting list. That is a worry for me. I assure the Senator that the HSE and the Department are working at getting those waiting times down. I thank her for raising this issue today. It is also important to mention Senator Costello who has been highlighting this issue too.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-01-27/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:33+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-01-27