I welcome the news today that the national cancer registry of Ireland has confirmed that there was no consistent rise in late-stage cancers following the pandemic and that survival rates for 2020 and 2021 remained broadly in line with previous years. I know it will monitor this as the years pass. This is reassuring news and reflects the huge efforts made across our health services during what was a challenging time. However, we know that cancer diagnoses dropped sharply in early 2020 as Covid-19 disrupted GP visits, hospital appointments and screening services. During that period, a huge emphasis was placed on encouraging people to visit their doctor if something did not feel right. I really worried that people would be too afraid to attend their GP and I worried about the consequences of this. I spoke publicly, including in an interview with the Irish Independent, to encourage people to visit their GP if they felt unwell during this time.

All of this re-enforces the message that early diagnosis is key in the fight against cancer. For that reason, I will continue to highlight my concerns around delays in diagnostic scanning for younger women attending symptomatic breast clinics. On Friday, I attended a fundraising event for Breast Cancer Ireland. We heard powerful lived experiences from women with late-stage cancer. We learned about groundbreaking research and ongoing improvements in treatment. Once again, the message was clear: know your own normal, check yourself regularly and see your GP if something is not right. Early detection saves lives. While I welcome today's report and acknowledge the enormous work that was done during the pandemic, I suggest that we need to focus on present challenges, particularly delays in diagnostic scanning. Addressing these delays is essential if we are to ensure that every person, especially younger women, has the best possible chance of early detection, timely treatment and ultimately survival.