A campaign demanding the extension of free breast screening in Kerry has collected around 20,000 signatures.
During a county-wide 'Petition Day' yesterday, the thousands of signatures were collected in the nine major towns in Kerry by the BreastCheck for Kerry NOW Campaign.
The group, which was formed over a month ago, is lobbying for the immediate extension of the BreastCheck screening service to the South and West of the country including Kerry.
Campaign chairwoman, Labour TD Breeda Moynihan Cronin said the group was outraged by the delays from the Department of Health in sanctioning the extension of the service.
"We were promised BreastCheck would be available to women in every part of the country in 2002. That became 2005 and it has now been put off until 2007 and probably later. All the while, women are dying needlessly for want of screening which enables early detection of cancers and speedy treatment and recovery," she said.
"On its establishment, approximately 10,000 women in Kerry would be immediately eligible for breast screening. Kerry will be served by a mobile screening unit from the BreastCheck clinic in Cork, but construction has not yet commenced in Cork", she said.
The campaign in Kerry is liasing with similar campaigns in Cork, Limerick and Tipperary and hopes to present thousands of signatures to the Tanaiste and Minister for Health to highlight the dissatisfaction among women over what has been called 'health apartheid' in women's health services.