Cancer Connect, the hugely successful cancer transport service, is available throughout County Cork and is delivered on the ground by a team of 430 volunteer drivers of several vehicles. The years 2023 and 2024 alone saw between 6,000 and 7,000 passenger journeys recorded. The impact this transport has on the lives of those on a cancer journey and the extended community is extensive. Cancer Connect has gone beyond the realm of surviving on community donations. The company is now struggling to budget efficiently for 2025 without any guaranteed income secured. The Department of Health made a commitment last October to fund Cancer Connect up to €50,000. This was greatly received but to deliver on this ever-growing service, Cancer Connect will need an annual budget of up to €100,000. Will this be achieved in the next budget?

I was there on the day we announced the €50,000, which was warmly welcomed by the Deputy and by everybody else. Fair play to the Deputy, he has doubled his bet now in terms of the request. It was the first time ever a response of this kind came from Government and it was part of wider financial supports that were allocated to cancer centres across the country. Yes, Cancer Connect does extraordinary work around the entirety of County Cork where it brings patients to services. The Minister for Health has a lot of pressure with regard to expenditure demands but I have no doubt that when she comes to look at this situation, we will see what we can do in terms of Cancer Connect and the other bodies as well.