THE HEALTH MINISTER declined to offer any guidance on a timeline by which the age of screening for bowel cancer will be lowered to the government’s intended age of 50.

Bowel cancer is the second most common cancer in men and the third most common cancer in women in Ireland.

The National Bowel Screening Programme offers people aged between 57 and 71 a free at-home bowel screening test every 2 years.

The recent death of celebrated Olympian Ciara Mageean at the age of 34 after a late diagnosis of bowel cancer has prompted calls for the age at which screening begins to be lowered.

The Department of Health previously announced plans to expand the screening age bracket by incremental one-year expansions.

Asked today at Fine Gael’s ard fheis whether she is supportive of lowering the age of screening, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill said the intention is to reach the age of 50 over time but “it will take a long time”.

“I am so conscious that I say this, recognising the great tragedy that the whole island has had in the loss of Ciara Mageean, and indeed she is not the only person who has lost her life to bowel cancer at an early stage,” the minister said.

While recognising bowel cancer’s impact on younger people, Carroll MacNeill said she has to be “honest and realistic” about how the expansion of the screening will go.

Asked if reaching the age of 50 will take five or 10 years, she replied, “I don’t want to put a time on it that I can’t stand over.”

She encouraged anyone who may be experiencing any symptoms to present to their GP or pharmacist.

Additional reporting by Jane Matthews at Fine Gael’s ard fheis in Cork