Madam, - The government's new Strategy for Science, Technology and Innovation came with a €3.8 billion funding envelope for the next seven years. Some €2.7 billion of this will go into third-level research and the private sector before 2008. The goal is to help Ireland become a world player in research and achieve the stated Government ambition of developing a knowledge-driven economy.
It compares shamefully with the second National Cancer Strategy launched last week, a week which ensured the cancer strategy would very quickly disappear from the media agenda.
The goal of the new cancer strategy, a nationwide reorganisation of cancer services, is to ensure "best outcome" for cancer patients and their families, including cancer screening programmes. This will include cervical screening, which will reduce the number of women dying from cervical cancer by 80 per cent. Unlike our science and technology strategy, or our roads strategy for that matter, it was not deemed appropriate to ring-fence a funding envelope for cancer services.
Minister for Finance Brian Cowen, in helping to launch the science strategy, said the plan had "full Government support. . ." and is an agenda "we simply have to embrace. . ."
The agenda of the multi-disciplinary cancer care and best outcome strategy is also an agenda we simply have to embrace. Let us see a clear-cut and unambiguous commitment by the Government to ensuring a fully resourced cancer service for all our families. - Yours, etc,
JANE BAILEY, Dunmore East, Co Waterford.