A new "one-stop shop" for cancer care at the privately owned Beacon Clinic in Dublin has been officially opened by Minister for Health Mary Harney.
Among the services offered at the new unit are diagnostics, surgery, chemotherapy, radiology and follow-up care.
Locating all services under one roof will help patients in the greater Leinster and midlands region to avoid the stress associated with travelling between various locations for their care, the operators maintain.
Ms Harney paid tribute to the investors behind the new hospital and highlighted the fact that it was the first new private hospital to have opened in Dublin in more than 20 years.
The Minister said the provision of more facilities of this kind, in the Dublin area and elsewhere, would have the capacity to "greatly relieve" the pressure on the public health system.
"I want to see facilities of this kind made available to patients . . . here we have the most modern facility available anywhere in Ireland linked in to the University of Pittsburgh, which is a centre of excellence," she said.
"Given the critical mass that exists in the University of Pittsburgh, and indeed in the United States where they have nearly 300 million people, it makes a lot of sense for us to link many of our services to places where huge innovation and new technology is being invested."
Ms Harney continued: "I do understand the importance of working with places like the University of Pittsburgh to get obviously better treatment for patients in Ireland."
The new cancer unit, which has been opened at a cost of €30-€33 million, forms part of the ongoing development of facilities at the Beacon hospital.
Located in the Sandyford industrial estate, it opened its doors in October of last year.