Health service shutdown saw 10% drop in cancer diagnoses in 2020

THE Minister for Health has confirmed that in 2020 there were 10% fewer cancers diagnosed than would have been expected or projected for the year by the National Cancer Registry of Ireland.

The statistics were confirmed to Aontú leader Deputy Peadar Tóibín following a parliamentary question.

Commenting on the statistics, Paul Lawless, Aontú candidate for Claremorris LEA, said: “These are awful figures. What they show is that across multiple cancer types we saw significantly fewer cancers detected or diagnosed in the first and second years of the Covid crisis, when compared with pre-pandemic cancer rates.

“The fall is a direct result of the government shutting down or reducing vital cancer services during Covid.

“Aontú warned against the government's policy to close so much of our health service. Aontú was the only party who pushed back against this policy.”

He continued: “What we see in today's figures is that 30% fewer women were diagnosed with cancer of the cervix in 2020 than in 2019.

“Our leader was very passionate about this issue during the pandemic because he too was diagnosed with skin cancer during lockdown, and he remembers the atmosphere at the time - the fear of going to the doctor in case you might contract Covid-19.

“The government, by shutting down key cancer services, have cost people their lives, and these decisions need to be scrutinised in a full public enquiry into the handling of the pandemic in Ireland.”