Responding to news that the Health Service Executive’s BreastCheck national screening service has missed its screening targets for two years in a row, Marie Keating Foundation CEO Liz Yeates said:

“The reported shortfall in BreastCheck screenings over the last two years is deeply worrying. Missing the target by 76,334 screenings is not just a number on a page – it represents thousands of women who have been left waiting for screening that could mean the difference between catching cancer early or facing a much more difficult diagnosis later on.

“Early detection saves lives. When breast cancer is diagnosed at an earlier stage, oncologists have more treatment options, the cancer journey is generally less aggressive, survival rates are higher, and families are spared enormous distress. Every delayed screening increases the likelihood of cancers being found later, when they are more advanced and harder to treat. These are real consequences and they will be felt by women and families across the country.

“Ireland’s National Cancer Strategy set out an ambitious plan to improve outcomes and save lives, and it has made important progress in some areas. However chronic underinvestment in cancer services and the HSE’s recruitment embargo has had this inevitable negative impact on our screening and other cancer care services.

“Without urgent measures, BreastCheck will continue to fall behind as the population grows, and more women will be placed at unnecessary risk.

“We welcome the Minister’s request for an Action Plan from the National Screening Service ‘to increase the number of mammograms offered to women to be given to her in the coming weeks’.

However, action plans without the necessary funding and investment are just words on paper. If the Government is serious about protecting women’s health, the Action Plan must be backed by meaningful investment in Budget 2026 and in the National Cancer Strategy, with a clear timeline for delivery and accountability built in.

“Only then can BreastCheck deliver the timely, lifesaving service that women across Ireland both need and deserve.”

BreastCheck is a free breast screening programme for those aged 50 to 69 years, usually around every two years.

You can register here: https://apps.breastcheck.ie/breastcheck/registration.626.brcregistration.html.

Visit our website here for more information on breast cancer: https://mariekeating.ie/cancer-information/breast-cancer/.