Ceisteanna na gceannairí, an Teachta Kenny.

Tá Gaeilge ana mhaith ag an Cheann Comhairle.

This is breast cancer awareness month and it seems the Government hides behind the Health Service Executive as some remote agency which seems suddenly to implement Government policy without reference to the human cost. The health service was defined as being necessary to cure people and help when they needed health-based assistance, not just as an employment measure. I read the letter from Susie Long — God rest her — who was recently laid to rest, in which she described what she went through waiting seven months for a simple colonoscopy. There was another letter in the daily newspapers last Saturday with the description by a mother of how her child had gone through serious difficulties sitting on a hard chair in an accident and emergency unit all night.

It is three years since the Minister for Health and Children announced her famous plan to resolve the crisis in accident and emergency units but this is not much better, save in a few cases. There is no connection between what the Government says about having a world class health service and how it impacts on people and the reality expressed in communications to every Deputy, members of the Taoiseach's party included. Last week Navan hospital announced the closure of an orthopaedic ward for December. The response of the Minister for Health and Children was to say this was no big deal because only six operations were being cancelled. In fact, the number is likely to be 200.

We hear that there are home care packages available for everybody, yet the National Rehabilitation Centre in Dún Laoghaire cannot discharge patients because there are neither home care packages nor care available when needed. We hear the same story over and over from the Minister and her Government colleagues. The HSE is doing the Government's job but there is no connection between the reality of people's lives and what Ministers tell us. This was very different for Susie Long, for those who have been waiting for hip operations, and the children or elderly sitting on hard chairs in accident and emergency units. The response for breast cancer awareness month is to have a frenzy of decisions to close down treatment centres. No one can defend an inferior service but where services are available, they should not be taken away in the absence of a better alternative. How much further must we go before the world class health service of which the Taoiseach speaks is available?

This is breast cancer awareness month. The Department of Health and Children, the Cabinet committee on health and the HSE management work closely together. It is a big service that spreads throughout the country. Deputy Kenny has raised different aspects of it. I will confine my reply to breast cancer services. The development and improvement of diagnostic and treatment services for cancer patients, including breast cancer patients, is a major priority for the development of cancer services nationally. We have allocated a large amount of resources to the development of services for symptomatic breast cancer disease nationally. Practically all of those resources are for staff. I accept the BreastCheck service is not yet available everywhere, but we are committed to ensuring that it is rolled out to remaining regions in the country as quickly as possible.

In January this year the National Cancer Screening Service Board was established. This amalgamated BreastCheck and the Irish Cervical Screening Programme to deliver programmes nationally. BreastCheck will commence its roll-out this month. We have also allocated resources this year to meet the additional costs of that national roll-out, bringing its budget up to more than €20 million. A total of 111 posts have been approved and recruitment is under way. We have allocated capital funding of almost €27 million which has been allocated for two clinical units, seven additional mobile units and the provision of state-of-the-art digital equipment. Construction is under way on both these sites. Both are static sites, one in Galway, one in Cork.

Does the Taoiseach believe all of that?

Allow the Taoiseach to continue without interruption.

BreastCheck is currently available in 15 counties in the eastern, north eastern, midland and parts of the south-eastern and western regions. BreastCheck has reported a very high volume of screening activity in 2006. Approximately 64,000 women were screened last year. That is a significant increase on the previous year. Screening has detected several hundred cancers.

The Minister has recently approved a national quality standard for symptomatic breast disease services under the Health Act 2007. These are, essentially, the standards under the national cancer control strategy. This will ensure compliance with the standards. The Minister has also called on hospitals in the independent sectors to take steps to ensure that BreastCheck complies with these standards. The Department and Barrington's Hospital continue to work closely together on the terms of reference and the progression of the review of symptomatic breast disease services under the auspices of Barrington's Hospital. That review is to be completed at the end of this month and any patients identified as needing further diagnostic or therapeutic interventions in the course of the review will be informed of this and referred promptly to the hospital for such intervention.

I know there are problems. Deputy Kenny mentioned the death of Susie Long last Friday, and how she fought her case and obviously felt let down by the system.

She was entitled to feel so.

I followed what she said about how her diagnosis was handled given that she was a public patient and not a private patient, an issue about which she felt strongly. It is regrettable that the system did not live up to the standards in that case, as has been clearly put forward.

There are thousands more such cases.

I extend my sympathy to the family of Susie Long on her death.

She was kept waiting seven months for a colonoscopy.