Waterford councillors want Martin to release radiotherapy report

HEALTH Minister, Mícheál Martin, is coming under more pressure to release a long-awaited report into the country’s radiotherapy services. City leaders in Waterford have threatened to bring their protest over the lack of cancer facilities in the region to the steps of Dáil Éireann.

City councillors have again threatened such a move in an effort to get Mr Martin, to meet with the group and reveal the long-awaited Expert Review Group report into radiotherapy services. A planned meeting a fortnight ago was cancelled because of the Minister’s commitments to SARS and the public health doctors dispute.

At the city council meeting on Monday night, it emerged that news of a rescheduled meeting with the minister will be received later this week. Many of the city’s representatives felt this was just not good enough. Workers Party councillor, John Hannigan, said it was time to consider the picket once more. “I believe the Minister already knows the outcome of the report commissioned by him on the need for radiotherapy services nationwide and that Waterford is not going to get those facilities.