HSE misses BreastCheck targets as Mayo women left without local service
The HSE BreastCheck national service missed its screening targets for two consecutive years, according to new figures.
In 2024, the target was missed by 35.81pc, with 137,134 screenings carried out compared to a target of 195,000.
In 2023, the service fell short by 10.53pc, with 166,532 screenings compared to a target of 185,000.
The HSE has attributed the missed targets to a global shortage of radiology staff, saying it is actively recruiting new consultants and radiographers.
County Mayo has felt the brunt of this shortage. It was reported earlier this month that all mammogram services had been suspended at Mayo University Hospital (MUH) following the retirement of the hospital’s radiographer. A replacement is not expected to take up the post until early 2026, and efforts to secure an interim have so far been unsuccessful.
The BreastCheck figures were released after Aontú leader Deputy Peadar Toibín submitted a parliamentary question. He has warned that lives could be lost as a result of fewer screenings.
His parliamentary colleague, Deputy Paul Lawless, described the figures as a “damning indictment of a system that is systematically failing the very people it was designed to protect. Over 75,000 women left unscreened is not a footnote in a report; it is a national scandal.”
The Mayo TD also said the suspension of mammogram services at MUH was “nothing short of grotesque,” adding: “Are we to tell the women of Mayo that their health must wait three years for a bureaucratic baton to be passed? That their lives are subject to the scheduling whims of a system that cannot even secure a temporary radiographer?”
Aontú councillor Deirdre Lawless echoed her party colleagues and added that the number of women being screened under BreastCheck has been declining over the years.
"In 2019, 170,957 women were screened. Last year, that number had fallen to 137,134. 20pc fewer women were screened for cancer last year than just before the Covid Crisis.” she pointed out.
Cllr Lawless also highlighted that the number of people screened in 2024 was 25.87pc lower than the 2023 national target.
Regarding the suspension of mammogram services at MUH, the Knock-based councillor stated that successive Ministers for Health have failed people, particularly in the West of Ireland.
“We again are seeing patients in rural Ireland suffering, and nobody will be held accountable. Nobody will take responsibility for this,” she said, “In terms of MUH and the transfer of appointments to Galway, it is very frustrating, shocking, and wrong that a replacement radiographer was not recruited in advance of the retirement there,
“This would not happen in the private sector. There seems to be no accountability when taxpayers' money is at stake and when regular people's lives are involved.”
Cllr Lawless added that taxpayers’ money was being wasted at “astronomical levels”.
“The only losers are the Irish people, sick and vulnerable people in need of proper care. We should have a first-class health system, not the broken, lethargic one we have.” she said.
The BreastCheck figures have prompted strong criticism from politicians and councillors who argue that delays and service suspensions, particularly in Mayo, represent a failure in the health system.
Women in Mayo have been left without direct access to mammogram appointments, and concerns are mounting over accountability and the potential impact on lives.
Mayo Minister Alan Dillon has been working with the HSE to ensure a temporary solution is secured as soon as possible at MUH, noting that the situation has caused distress among patients in the county.
“I have received numerous representations from constituents and have made formal representations to the HSE, as well as directly engaging with my colleague in the Department of Health, to press for immediate action,” he said.
Describing the delay in hiring an interim radiographer as unacceptable, Minister Dillon stated: “I am continuing to pursue the matter vigorously with the HSE and the Department of Health to ensure that a temporary radiographer is appointed without further delay.”
While the suspension is still in place at MUH, all appointments are being directed to Galway. Minister Dillon has assured that he is working to minimise the disruption and travel burdens facing patients.
He added that the ongoing crisis highlighted the urgent need to address the nationwide shortage of radiographers: “Equality of access to healthcare is a fundamental right. The women of Mayo, and indeed all across Ireland, deserve timely, local access to breast screening services. I remain committed to ensuring that mammogram services are restored at MUH as soon as possible and that the broader issues affecting BreastCheck are addressed at a national level."
The mounting criticism reflects growing concern that prolonged gaps in screening could have devastating consequences if left unaddressed.
Deputy Lawless warned that delays in cancer screening come at the highest possible cost, with lives ultimately on the line. He said that early detection of cancer is not a luxury but a lifeline: “Every missed screening is a missed opportunity to save a mother, a sister, a daughter. This is not just a failure of logistics. It is a failure of leadership, of compassion, and of moral responsibility.”
This article has been funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.