THE HEALTH MINISTER has said there’s “no point” in promising additional staff to tackle delays for breast cancer patients’ access to chemotherapy in Ireland due to an already “persistent” issue with recruitment in the health service.

All nine hospitals which offer post-surgery breast cancer treatment have, since 2023, consistently missed the target to provide 90% of patients with chemotherapy within eight weeks, The Journal Investigates revealed today.

At one hospital, in Letterkenny Co Donegal, only a shocking 13% of breast cancer patients had the crucial treatment on time. Local Sinn Féin TD Pearse Doherty said that it is “absolutely unacceptable” that Letterkenny University Hospital topped the list of delays.

Figures, obtained by The Journal Investigates through freedom of information laws, show most other hospitals fell far short of the target, with many people across the country left waiting for this potentially life-saving treatment.

The particular eight-week target only applies to chemotherapy after breast cancer surgery. This therapy can reduce the risk of cancer coming back. But the longer people have to wait, the less effective the treatment becomes.

Asked by The Journal if emergency measures would be introduced to reduce these delays across the nine facilities, health minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill said, due to ongoing and “persistent” staffing issues, there was “no point” in promising extra staff.

“I will reflect on that over the next number of weeks,” the Fine Gael TD said. “The staffing issue is a persistent issue, like [the delays are] not just in relation to that.

“There’s no point in me telling you that I’m going to do that when I’m already struggling to recruit the 6,250 posts that are funded in the health system at the moment.”

Sinn Féin’s health spokesperson and TD David Cullinane said that he believes the delays reflect recruitment delays and issues in the health service. 

“It is clear that staffing is one of the causes, and this is not surprising,” he said. “The HSE pay and numbers strategy limits recruitment and creates layers of bureaucracy into the recruitment process. This delays recruitment of staff into vital areas.”

It comes as our investigative team reported last month that people were waiting longer to access chemotherapy and immunotherapy. In that report, they found almost half of hospitals missed the overall chemo treatment target in 2024.

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Hospitals are faring even worse with this post-surgery targets, with no hospital achieving the 90% target in 2024. The highest last year was 75%.

Doherty told Highland Radio this morning: “This has been going on for a number of years. And that is what is really, really frustrating.

“From 2023, right through 2024 and now into 2025 that we’ve a situation where the vast majority of women who have gone through therapy then are not getting [treatment] within the time frame that is required.

“That is simply not acceptable.

He added: “And the worst thing is that there are solutions there. Things can happen, things can be put in place that would actually ensure that people are getting the care – but they’re not put in place.”

Carroll MacNeill said she was “acutely conscious” of the “fluctuations” – in relation to the missed targets – at hospitals regionally. She said she discussed the issue with Letterkenny Hospital bosses recently.

The health minister later pleaded with students who may receive offers to attend medical courses in Ireland to stay and work in Ireland after they qualify.

A spokesperson for the HSE’s National Cancer Control Programme said it “remains fully committed to ensuring that all patients receive timely and equitable access to cancer treatment”.

They said that the public sector target can be “dependent on capacity” of each centre, which are expected to “proactively monitor” and report concerns in a “timely manner”.

With reporting by Maria Delaney and Jane Matthews.