Pearse Doherty: Government 'deliberately underfunded' cancer services

Pearse Doherty has told the Dáil that the Government 'deliberately underfunded' cancer services.

The Donegal Deputy was involved in a spat with Tánaiste Micheál Martin during Leaders' Questions in the Dáil on Thursday.

Deputy Doherty, Sinn Féin’s spokesperson on finance, said that Ireland is a 'laggard' in terms of cancer treatments.

Deputy Doherty said that the HSE sought out €20 million in funding for a national cancer strategy in this year’s budget but received zero.

“You deliberately underfunded the health service with disastrous consequences for patient safety,” Deputy Doherty said.

“Yesterday the Irish Cancer Society told us that radiation equipment is lying idle in hospitals across this country. A spokesperson for the Institute of Radiotherapy, Radiography and Radiation Therapy said there had been forced machine closures in public facilities due to staff shortages.

“The fact that life-saving, vital and expensive cancer equipment is lying idle in many hospitals across the state is a punch in the gut to those families and their friends.

“Your Government deliberately made a choice in the budget to underfund the service as you have done in previous years.”

The Tánaiste rejected the claims and said that the Government was entitled to seek value for money and could not agree to every funding request from every agency.

Mr Martin said that €7.7 billion went to the HSE in the last four years and said that 65 per cent of people diagnosed with cancer between 2014 and 2018 were still alive five years later, compared to 44 per cent 20 years earlier.

He said: “Our mortality rate for all cancers had dropped by 11 per cent over the past decade, with cancer of the trachea and lung down 19 per cent, and breast cancer dropping by 10 per cent.”

The pair became involved in a to-and-fro with Ceann Comhairle Seán Ó Fearghaíl forced to intervene.