Donegal Cancer Flights & Services aim to hand 15,000-strong petition to Minister

Members of Donegal Cancer Flights & Services will be in Dublin on Wednesday at noon to formally hand over petitions signed by more than 15,000 people, calling on the Government to protect the Donegal–Dublin PSO air service and to guarantee genuine same-day access for cancer patients and others travelling for essential medical care.

A rallying protest was held at the airport on Saturday and the petition that was launched beforehand was available to sign online and in person at the group's base at Ionad Naomh Pádraig Dobhar, An Bun Beag.

Majella O’Donnell laid out the case for maintaining the vital existing PSO (Public Service Obligation) flights from Carrickfinn to Dublin on Friday’s Late Late Show.

READ NEXT: Watch: Cancer survivor Majella pleads on Late Late to keep Donegal's vital flights

"This petition represents not just numbers, but lived reality. For cancer patients in Donegal, the midday PSO flight is not a convenience or a luxury; it is a medical lifeline," read a statement from the group. "It allows patients to attend hospital appointments, consultations, treatments and assessments in Dublin and return home the same day, sparing them the physical, emotional and financial toll of unnecessary overnight stays while already undergoing serious illness.

"Donegal Cancer Flights & Services operates on the front line of this reality. The committee works directly with cancer patients and families at their most vulnerable moments, helping them travel for urgent care. We see first-hand the strain placed on patients when same-day travel is removed or made unworkable. Any PSO arrangement that fails to safeguard same-day medical access fundamentally undermines the purpose of a Public Service Obligation route.

"The scale of public support, 15,000 signatories and rising, sends a clear and urgent message, that the people of Donegal will not accept the erosion of a service that protects the health, dignity and wellbeing of cancer patients. Geographic isolation must never translate into reduced access to life-saving care.

"On Wednesday, the committee will be seeking direct engagement with the Minister for Transport Darragh O’Brien TD, and Government representatives to ensure that the Donegal–Dublin PSO explicitly protects same-day return travel for medical purposes. We are asking for clarity, accountability, and above all, a commitment that cancer patients will not be collateral damage of administrative or contractual decisions.

"This is about fairness. It is about equality of access. And it is about listening to those who know this route not as a timetable, but as a lifeline."