Plans for a national network of radiotherapy services have met with a mixed reaction from regional campaign groups which have been lobbying for better cancer treatment services.
The €400 million plan will see the development of four large centres of excellence in Dublin, Cork and Galway, along with "satellite" centres in Waterford and Limerick.
Campaigners in Waterford, where a lack of radiotherapy services has been a major political issue, yesterday welcomed Minister for Health Mary Harney's announcement. Campaigner Jane Bailey of Cancer Care Alliance said: "It's great news. We've been promised we can have the service within two years. The Tánaiste has taken on board that in order to provide an equitable service, geography is critical. Families have been campaigning for years for access to full multidisciplinary cancer treatment."
However, the chairman of the southeast cancer campaign group, Dick Roche, questioned why a service for the southeast could not have been provided publicly.
"We don't understand why, if a private consortium can provide the service within two years, the Government couldn't do it under a public scheme within the same time frame."
Fine Gael TD John Deasy gave the announcement a guarded welcome. He said promises to deliver radiotherapy services had been made before the last general election but were not kept.
In the north-west, Donegal Action for Cancer Care reacted with disappointment to the announcement.
While the area will not have a satellite service, the Minister said arrangements would be made with Northern Ireland health authorities to provide a service from Belfast City Hospital. The group's spokeswoman Noelle Duddy said: "We'll be demanding a satellite service. We're very disappointed. While Belfast may appear to be viable, it's running to capacity.
"It's also between 100 and 150 miles from parts of Donegal. The centralisation of this service is not in the best interests of patients here."
A spokesman for the Minister, however, said the Belfast unit was due to expand early next year and insisted there was not a problem. Plans to establish a satellite centre will be examined at a later date. The Irish Cancer Society said it was delighted that radiotherapy services would be brought up to a "world class" standard within six years.
The society's chief executive, John McCormack, said: "We would implore the Government to ensure that the development of these services is completed by 2011 and we will be monitoring progress through our representation on the National Radiation Oncology Co-ordinating Group and taking steps should timelines slip".
However, it called on the Government to examine the possibility of subsidising travel costs for patents who have to commute long distances for treatment. Many of these patients are frequently too ill to use public transport, Mr McCormack said.