Ahern set to deliver on radiotherapy treatment

TAOISEACH Bertie Ahern is expected to deliver radiotherapy to Waterford today when he visits the region.

While it is widely anticipated he will have positive news for public radiotherapy patients, allowing them to receive their treatment at the new Whitfield hospital, an election candidate in the region has called upon Mr Ahern to deliver University status for Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT).

Workers Party candidate Cllr John Halligan said the constituency visit is an ideal opportunity for the Taoiseach to outline where the Government stands on the provision of radiotherapy for all cancer patients from the southeast and on the designation of WIT as a regional university.

He said Mr Ahern has key questions to answer. “These are: when will radiotherapy be available at Waterford Regional Hospital; what arrangement will be made to ensure that public patients receive radiotherapy at UPMC Whitfield Cancer Centre from next month and when will Waterford Institute of Technology be granted university designation?

“Mary Harney, Minister for Health and Children, announced in July 2005 that the national network for radiation oncology would include a centre in Waterford Regional Hospital with two linear accelerators integrated with Cork University Hospital. The question for Mr Ahern is when exactly is this going to happen? Estimates seem to vary from 2008 to 2011 — we need certainty.

“On the same issue, Mr Ahern will officially open UPMC Whitfield Cancer Centre while he’s in Waterford. My understanding is that this facility will deliver radiotherapy to patients from November but there’s currently no arrangement in place for public patients to access this vital treatment.”

Meanwhile, Frank O’Regan, vice president, Lens Operations, Europe, for eye health company Bausch and Lomb, which employs over 1,500 in Waterford, said University status for the county was vital.

“It is a reality that university designation is a yardstick routinely used by key decision-makers who are remotely evaluating research and development proposals. Waterford Institute of Technology has some excellent undergraduate and postgraduate degrees but it has simply outgrown its sector and must be allowed throw off the shackles and take its place as Ireland’s newest university with campuses at key strategic locations in the region.”

He added: “With the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) cautioning in their recent quarterly commentary that an imminent economic slowdown in the United States could lead to 90,000 job losses in Ireland by 2010 and so double our unemployment rate, we must urgently consider how best to ensure the remarkable economic progress made over the last decade is maintained and built on.”