TD apologises for ‘misleading’ breast cancer claim

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

Tipperary North deputy Michael Smith said the inaccurate information had been “inadvertently” included in a four-page election booklet released by him.

The apology came after Labour challenger for the seat, Senator Kathleen O’Meara, accused him of deliberately misleading women. “This flier which tells them that free breast screening is available to them, when the reality is that there is no such service available in North Tipperary. In fact the failure to extend BreastCheck to this county means that at least 21 women with early breast cancers will not be detected.

“I have received complaints from a number of women in North Tipperary who, when they got the deputy’s brochure, were led to believe that free breast screening was now available.

“When they checked the Freephone number supplied on the deputy’s brochure, however, they were told that free breast screening is only available in Leinster and Cavan and Monaghan, not Munster, and certainly not North Tipperary.

“The deputy is either so out of touch as to be unaware that BreastCheck still has not been extended to North Tipperary, despite his colleague Micheál Martin’s promise to do so, or is fully aware and hopes to get away with pulling the wool over our eyes,” she said.

Mr Smith said he was sorry for any misunderstanding and would press for the service to be available in the constituency as soon as possible.

“I certainly wouldn’t deliberately mislead anybody.

“I would like to apologise to anybody who is upset by that,” he told Newstalk Radio.