More for cattle than breast cancer

THE Government spends 20 times more combating disease among farm animals than tackling breast cancer among women, it emerged yesterday.

While €217m will be spent on eradicating disease among cattle this year, just 10m will go towards a breast cancer screening service.

The national roll-out of the service has been delayed due to funding shortfalls and there is no firm commitment on when it will be completed.

Opposition parties yesterday accused the Government of forcing tens of thousands of women to wait while they run the risk of developing breast cancer.

“In effect the Government seems to place more importance eradicating disease among farm animals than women,” said Labour’s health spokesperson, Liz McManus.

BreastCheck chairperson Dr Sheelagh Ryan told an Oireachtas health committee it would cost 21m to make the service available across the country.

The group submitted a business plan to the Department of Health last summer on how the service could be rolled out, but there is still no indication when this will happen.

Following Dr Ryan’s presentation, the health committee, chaired by Fianna Fáil TD Batt O’Keeffe, passed a motion calling for BreastCheck to be expanded as soon as possible.

Health Minister Micheál Martin last week announced BreastCheck was to be extended to Wexford, Carlow and Kilkenny - but there is still no service in the south and west of the country.

Mr Martin said at the launch of the service in February 2000 it would be nationwide by the end of 2002. A spokesperson for Mr Martin, however, said he was committed to developing BreastCheck and would meet the group shortly to discuss its expansion.