I raise the issue of lengthy waiting times for oncology services in the Mater. This issue was brought to my attention by a constituent of mine called Maura, who was referred by her GP in early February for an urgent ten-day appointment with BreastCheck. Unfortunately, it was May when she received a letter, and she was told there was a five-month waiting list for an urgent ten-day appointment. The Minister knows the important work that unit does in saving many women's lives. I put in a parliamentary question asking for details of it. While those details spoke about retention and staffing issues and capacity, I believe we need to make an intervention. While I am aware of the case of Maura, I am not aware of many other women who might be waiting, not just five weeks, but five months. For the many people who support others through breast cancer awareness and so on, this is an incredibly important issue.

Yes, it is. I thank the Deputy for raising it. He and I are aware of the great work the Mater hospital does, how much it is respected and how hard its staff work. I also know how important and sensitive the issue he is raising is. I understand that, last year, approximately 60,000 women were seen in a rapid access clinic. The HSE, in recognition of this issue, has set a target for 95% of urgent referrals to be seen within ten working days and non-urgent within 12 weeks. Five of our centres met those standards and targets and four did not. Sometimes, these were for reasons of staff shortages or problems in accessing diagnostics.

On the particular issue raised by the Deputy, the Minister is intending to write to the CEO of the Mater hospital about this point to draw this matter to his attention. However, I know the Mater hospital will be doing all it can to see patients and those who are really worried about their health as fast as possible. I am sure the Department of Health will give them any assistance to deal with this important matter.