Jennifer Murnane O'Connor: £76m invested in national cancer strategy
Jennifer Murnane O'Connor addressed concerns about cancer care and general practice, reiterating the government's commitment to fund the national cancer strategy and to support GPs. She confirmed ring-fenced funding, cited £76 million invested since 2020 (including £23 million in 2025), and outlined a general practice review.
The speaker said the government is committed to improving cancer care with better prevention, maintained improvements in survival rates and timely access to treatments. She highlighted ring-fenced funding, further infrastructure investment and a commitment to fund and implement the national cancer strategy.
Significant funding of £76 million including £23 million in 2025 has been invested in the national cancer strategy since 2020, the speaker stated, and she described the programme as a priority for the government.
The government pledged support for general practitioners, aiming to increase GP numbers and improve patient access. A strategy review of general practice is underway, examining five areas - GP training, GP capacity, the e-health agenda, out-of-hours reform and support for GP models.
The review is led by the Department of Health in partnership with the HSE and relevant stakeholders, including the Irish Medical Organisation and the Irish College of General Practitioners. The speaker said the review is to be completed early this year with a report presented to the Minister for consideration and next steps.
The speaker emphasised that ministers are working together on these priorities and that the government will return with more information once the review and reports are complete. She thanked the audience and reiterated a commitment to improving access to services.
Investment in cancer care
The speaker said the government is committed to improving cancer care with better prevention, maintained improvements in survival rates and timely access to treatments. She highlighted ring-fenced funding, further infrastructure investment and a commitment to fund and implement the national cancer strategy.
Funding figures and priority
Significant funding of £76 million including £23 million in 2025 has been invested in the national cancer strategy since 2020, the speaker stated, and she described the programme as a priority for the government.
General practice review
The government pledged support for general practitioners, aiming to increase GP numbers and improve patient access. A strategy review of general practice is underway, examining five areas - GP training, GP capacity, the e-health agenda, out-of-hours reform and support for GP models.
Leadership and timeline
The review is led by the Department of Health in partnership with the HSE and relevant stakeholders, including the Irish Medical Organisation and the Irish College of General Practitioners. The speaker said the review is to be completed early this year with a report presented to the Minister for consideration and next steps.
Next steps and collective commitment
The speaker emphasised that ministers are working together on these priorities and that the government will return with more information once the review and reports are complete. She thanked the audience and reiterated a commitment to improving access to services.
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Transcript
Thank you very much and I too am delighted to be here tonight and like the ministers we have been listening to all the concerns and there is very serious concerns here that we are committed to working over the next few years but I know investment in cancer care was one of the concerns that was brought up tonight and I can assure you the government is committed to improving cancer care, ensuring better prevention, maintain improvements in cancer survival rates and timely access to treatments and that is really important. This includes allocating ring fence funding to cancer services, investing in further infrastructure but also given the impact of the cancer on society we are committed to funding and implementing the national cancer strategy. Significant funding of £76 million including £23 million in 2025 has been invested in the national cancer strategy since 2020 and I can assure you this is a priority for us. The other area that was brought up tonight was the GPs and I can also say that the government is committed to supporting general practitioners in increasing the number of GPs and improving access to GP services for patients. A strategy review of the general practice is currently underway examining issues across five areas GP training, GP capacity, the e-health agenda, out of hours reform and the support of model for GPs. The review is led by the Department of Health in partnership with the HSE and relevant stakeholders including the Irish Medical Organisation and the Irish College of General Practitioners. The review will be identified and improvements to the current system of GP care as part of the primary care focused health service and the review is to be completed early this year with a report presented to our Minister here for consideration and the next steps. So there is a commitment that we are working on this and we will come back to you when we have more information. Thank you and again I'm honoured and I'm delighted to be working with the Ministers here, Ministers of Health and as I said all of us working together want to improve the system and make sure that we have better access for people for services. Thank you. Minister.