The absence of any provision in the Government's spending plans for a radiotherapy unit at Waterford Regional Hospital has prompted an angry response from cancer patients and their families in the south east.
The issue dominated the general election campaign in Waterford and neighbouring constituencies with protesters jostling and jeering the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, during a visit to Waterford in March.
Cancer patients in the south- east must currently travel to Dublin or Cork for radiotherapy.
Most are treated at St Luke's Hospital in Dublin, where there is an eight-week waiting list. When admitted, they face round-trip journeys of up to 200 miles a day for treatment.
In March, Mr Ahern said he was "very conscious" of the strain of people travelling when they're at their weakest. "I understand all of that," he said.
Mr Ahern spent nearly an hour with representatives of the South East Cancer Foundation, including consultants from Waterford Regional Hospital, who outlined the hardship endured by patients.
A petition with 50,136 signatures calling for the installation of a radiotherapy unit in Waterford to serve the south east was presented to Mr Ahern.
An expert review group set up in May 2000 to examine the provision of radiotherapy services nationally is due to report to the Minister for Health, Mr Martin early next year.
However, while confirming that his Department's spending plans for 2003 include an additional €29 million for cancer services, Mr Martin acknowledged this week that no provision is included for radiotherapy services in Waterford.
Reacting to the Minister's remarks, Mr Séamus Ryan, a Waterford city councillor and South Eastern Health Board member, said that cancer care in the south-east should be on a par with what is available in other regions.
"I would hope that as much as possible of the extra €29 million Minister Martin was talking about will make its way to Waterford and the south-east, but it is clear that the radiotherapy unit that was promised repeatedly before the election in May will not move any closer in the next 12 months."
About 1,000 new cancer patients are diagnosed in the south-east each year, about half of whom require radiotherapy. Only one in five cancer patients can access such treatment.
Some patients requiring chemotherapy have also had to leave the region for treatment recently.
A Department of Health spokesperson said last night that Mr Martin had made no specific mention of radiotherapy services in Waterford during his comments on the Book of Estimates.
The spokesperson also said that the question of cancer services in Waterford would be addressed in future years and that a radiotherapy unit was never likely to have been put in place for another three or four years.