PEOPLE BEFORE PROFIT  TD Richard Boyd Barrett made his return to the Dáil today, using his first appearance since undergoing treatment for throat cancer to call for greater investment in cancer care.

The Dún Laoghaire TD received a warm standing ovation as he took his seat in the chamber for the first time since April.

Ceann Comhairle Verona Murphy opened the session by welcoming him back, saying: “Everybody is absolutely thrilled to hear that your treatment went well and that you’re looking so well.”

She added: “Maybe you’re somewhat quieter. We’ll have to judge that.”

TDs from across the political spectrum echoed those sentiments.

Sinn Féin’s David Cullinane said it was “great news” to see him return, while Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers commended Boyd Barrett for speaking “with enormous candour and bravery” about his diagnosis, saying his openness had helped many others “experiencing cancer in their own lives and families”.

Labour leader Ivana Bacik quipped: “I never thought I’d say this, but I’ve missed your voice in my left ear across the aisle”, while Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns said her party was “delighted to see him back healthy and well”.

Boyd Barrett began by thanking colleagues and the public for their support, and by reflecting briefly on events beyond his own recovery.

“It’s good to be back, and particularly good to be back in the aftermath of the successful campaign of Catherine Connolly,” he said, congratulating her on her election as president.

People Before Profit was one of a number of left-leaning parties to back Connolly’s presidential campaign.

“It’s also good to be back on the day that a socialist gets elected in New York — signs of hope and portents of the future,” Boyd barrett added.

When Verona Murphy jokingly asked if he was taking credit, Boyd Barrett replied “certainly not”, but added that “we might learn a few lessons from it”.

He went on to thank the thousands of people who sent him kind messages during his illness, saying they had been “very heartening and very helpful”.

“My biggest debt of gratitude is to the people who work in our health services, and particularly in cancer services,” he said.

They basically gave me my life back.

Boyd Barrett used the moment to highlight what he described as a critical shortfall in radiation oncology infrastructure, warning that outdated radiotherapy machines were causing distress for both patients and staff.

“Fifty per cent of people will have an encounter with cancer during their lives,” Barrett said.

“Forty-four thousand people this year will get a cancer diagnosis.

“Half of those will need these machines, linear accelerators, which are supposed to be replaced every ten years. But 35% are now 15 to 17 years old, and 40% will need to be replaced in the next five years.”

Boyd Barrett said that 16 out of 24 working days last month at St. Luke’s Hospital in Rathgar, where he had received canccer treatment, were affected by unscheduled downtime due to machine breakdowns.

The TD called for a National Radiotherapy Replacement Programme, with ringfenced, multi-annual funding to ensure hospitals no longer have to “come each year with a begging bowl” to replace life-saving equipment.

Minister Chambers, responding on behalf of the government, again welcomed Boyd Barrett back and said significant progress had been made in cancer care outcomes over recent decades.

“Over 65% of patients are now living five years after a cancer diagnosis compared with 43% in the 1990s,” he said, crediting reforms under successive governments.

He said Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill and the HSE were developing a capital investment plan to identify equipment and infrastructure needs across the health system, including radiation oncology.

“We as a government have prioritised funding our health system. More workers, more beds and technological improvements,” he said, noting that 30,000 additional healthcare workers had been recruited in the last five years.

Boyd Barrett’s intervention comes amid growing concern over the future of the National Cancer Strategy, with the Irish Cancer Society warning last month that cancer services remain “in the dark” about funding for 2026 and beyond.

The charity told the Oireachtas Health Committee that chronic delays and missed targets highlight the urgent need for ringfenced, multiannual funding, warning that underinvestment in key infrastructure was contributing to a “postcode lottery” in cancer care.