I have been asked by constituents to bring forward this issue to the Government. One person dies every hour from cancer in Ireland. Population-based programmes in Ireland published in September 2022 stated the burden of breast cancer is estimated to increase to 50% by 2045. The American Society of Breast Cancer Surgeons stated that all women over 25 years should have a formal risk assessment. Yet the formal screening age for breast cancer in Ireland is 50 to 69 years, as stated in the BreastCheck booklet.

Research published in The Lancet Oncology journal states that screening mammograms at 40 years of age instead of 50 saves women’s lives. Early detection is important and provides a better outcome for patients. Cancer has no age boundaries and nor should we. The request is that the age for a formal risk assessment for breast cancer should be changed to 40 years. Will the Government consider this life-saving change to the BreastCheck programme?

I introduced the BreastCheck programme as Minister for Health. We did it in a progressive way. We did not do the entire country at once; rather, we took it region by region and the whole emphasis was on professional high standards and an internationally peer-reviewed approach. There is room for debate on that. People have talked to me about going to 40. We can facilitate a discussion among clinicians and advocacy groups, together with the public more generally, about whether that is a clinically advised move.