At today's health committee, the Irish Cancer Society said there is a complacent notion that we are doing well in cancer but we are not. The reality is that the State's cancer services are deteriorating. A prime example of this is radiation therapy, which is beset with antiquated machinery and staff shortages. Radiation therapy machines need to be changed every ten years. That is their internationally accepted lifespan. In Ireland, 35% of machines are already 15 years old, while a further 40% will need replacement in five years. There is no national replacement programme in place. Alongside this, there are major staff shortages across radiation therapy services, with machines lying idle in public hospitals. Earlier this month, the Minister for Health told the Dáil that she is taking every step to attract radiation therapists into the public system. This is simply not the case. Radiation therapy graduates are not guaranteed HSE contracts, unlike graduate nurses. How can this be justified when we have vacancy rates of between 15% and 22%? Will the Minister make good on her word and take every step to attract these graduates? A good start would be permanent contracts for all of them.

I have literally just come from Crumlin where I met some of the new consultant radiologists who have come here from other countries in anticipation of the children's hospital. I am meeting the chief people officer after the statements on men's health in respect of some of the vacancies. On our cancer strategy, the Deputy is right to identify regional variance, which is one of the very many reasons we are shifting the funding model this year to a letter of determination to the HSE that focuses both on inputs and outputs, specifically trying to better achieve harmony, equity and regional equity of access around all the different areas, recognising that cancer services in particular are lagging too far behind in some areas while others are performing extremely well. The Deputy is right to identify it. As regards radiation replacement therapy, we have a capital programme more broadly and I will specifically look at radiation within that.