Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation
Dail Éireann — 2026-09-17
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Pádraig O'Sullivan (FF), Cork North-Central

The programme for Government commits to improving cancer care and access to treatment in the regions. Cork University Hospital stopped carrying out stem cell treatments in 2009. Since then, blood cancer patients from Cork and the south west have had to travel to St. James's or Galway at the most vulnerable time of their lives. I know a number of people who have had to travel to Galway and recuperate there after their treatment. A €27 million stem cell unit at CUH has had a project team in place since 2024. The HSE's own tender notice admits that CUH is not providing optimal treatment for stem cell and CAR-T therapies. Patients' advocates and clinicians will be in Leinster House on 7 October in a meeting organised by the Minister's own party's Senator, Eileen Lynch. To be fair to Eileen, she has advocated for this for a long time, as well as others in Cork and Kerry. I have written a number of letters to the HSE about this and I get the same old gibberish responses. We just want a definite answer. Can the Minister confirm the funding is there, the timeline for its delivery, since, as I said, the project team has been in place for a number of years, and if CAR-T therapies would be part of that as well? If the Minister does not have a response today, she might provide it in writing afterwards.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-09-17/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-28T05:50:48+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-09-17