It was early May during the abortion referendum campaign and a Together for Yes information meeting was taking place in UCC.

“Hobbling” people harmed by cancer screening is not the solution to reducing mounting legal costs, according to medical negligence solicitor Cian O’Carroll.

The Government is monitoring concerns that the future of breast cancer screening could be at risk over legal actions and say that medical litigation in Ireland is currently being reviewed.

The growing threat of legal action and multimillion-euro payouts are putting the future of the national breast screening programme at risk, it has been claimed.

Rosaline O’Brien, from Cappamore, Co Limerick, knew nothing about cancer trials until she was diagnosed with breast cancer in January 2013.

At least four women who have developed breast cancer are suing the State over allegations that BreastCheck failed to diagnose their condition.

The head of the HSE, Tony O’Brien, has described the CervicalCheck debacle as a “personal blow”, noting he had started his career in BreastCheck.

The State’s health services watchdog has found shortcomings in BreastCheck’s governance structures that could affect the quality of the national screening service.

The highest recorded number of women have been screened for breast cancer in Ireland.

The health service did not manage to come in on budget last year despite getting an extra €500m during the summer, it has emerged.

An Irish cancer expert insists there is still “clear justification” for breast screening, even though a study found that it resulted in one third of patients being treated for harmless tumours.

A woman who claimed she would not have had to have chemotherapy or a right-side mastectomy if a correct diagnosis had been made when she went for a BreastCheck mammogram has settled her High Court action.

Universal health insurance has been effectively scrapped after the newly appointed Health Minister Simon Harris has been told it is too costly to implement.

A campaign encouraging people with cancer to ask their doctor about cancer trials has launched.

There have been calls for more doctors in disadvantaged areas, because women in poorer communities are 33% more likely to die from breast cancer than wealthier women.

Health Minister, Leo Varadkar has delivered on a government promise made three years ago to extend BreastCheck screening to women aged 65 to 69 next year.

Health Minister Leo Varadkar has claimed the "cycle of cuts in health" is over after the first budget rise for the sector since the dying days of the Celtic Tiger.

Cancer campaigners from every constituency in Ireland have signed a petition calling on the Government to honour its commitment to extend free breast screening to women aged 65 to 69 in 2014.

BreastCheck screened some 128,002 women in 2012, detecting 858 cancers, its latest programme report shows.

Just one in two women in some areas of the country are availing of free mammograms, it has emerged.

A Government commitment to extend free breast screening to women aged 65 to 69 in 2014 looks threatened by a shortage of radiographers and the ban on staff recruitment.

The Department of Health is to spend up to €60,000 in a bid to identify efficiencies in a value-for-money review on the State’s rollout of Breastcheck.

WOMEN who miss a round of breast screening are more likely to need reassessment and have higher rates of cancer diagnosis, a study has found.

A MEDITERRANEAN diet has been linked with a lower breast cancer risk in a major study that followed almost 15,000 women for over a decade.

PLANS to reconfigure cancer services under the direction of cancer ‘tzar’ Prof Tom Keane have angered a number of hospital consultants, among them cancer specialists.

THE roll-out of Breast- Check, the national breast screening programme, is under threat in counties Clare, Leitrim and Donegal because of a shortage of radiographers and a ban on recruitment.

A BREAST cancer unit destined for closure under Government plans to centralise treatment services has recorded its busiest year ever.

BREASTCHECK never publishes advance screening schedules because women with breast cancer symptoms would delay going for a vital checkup, an Oireachtas committee was told last night.

SIGNATURES will be sought from every household in Waterford in an effort to increase support for a date for the arrival of the BreastCheck screening service.

WOMEN in Waterford are planning a rally later this month to highlight the continuing delay in rolling out the BreastCheck service to the city.

LIMERICK is facing another health scandal, it was claimed yesterday.

The possible downgrading of the South Infirmary/Victoria Hospital, which would be a consequence of the relocation of some of its services, needs to be looked at very carefully by the people of Cork and Munster.

A FINE Gael TD yesterday warned that Limerick is facing another cancer scandal.

IT IS now “crystal clear” that all the mistakes made in diagnosing breast cancer were due to an absolute breakdown of best practice, Europa Donna Ireland said yesterday.

IRISH women are being promised more accurate and better-quality test results following the introduction by the national breast screening programme of a fully digitalised X-ray service.

A STUDY has shown MRI scans used to detect breast cancer cells returned a large majority of unfounded results and showed up non-existent tumours.

BARRINGTONS Hospital’s in Limerick, which has ceased treating cancer patients, yesterday offered the use of a state-of-the-art mammogram machine to the HSE for free.

WOMEN in parts of the south and west of the country will have to wait another two years before they can avail of the national breast cancer screening service.

IN A shrinking economy, controlling the current pocket-lining arrangements is a priority. Medical inflation is not an act of God: it is a consequence of the “free market” in healthcare.

WOMEN in the mid-west will have to wait another two years to avail of national BreastCheck appointments, Labour Health spokeswoman Jan O’Sullivan TD claimed yesterday.

UP TO one in 10 cases of breast and ovarian cancer diagnosed every year are hereditary, a conference heard yesterday, yet there is no permanent funding for cancer risk services.

BREASTCHECK has developed an information guide about breast screening for women with intellectual disabilities.

BREASTCHECK, the national breast cancer screening service, has moved to reassure women in light of the current controversies over cancer testing and health funding.

A FIANNA Fáil TD last night apologised for putting out false claims about breast cancer care in his constituency.