Staff shortages were identified as a major issue to the delay.
According to data from the National Cancer Control Programme (NCCP), Cork University Hospital met the target of starting radiation treatment within 15 days for eligible cancer patients only twice between September 2023 and August 2024.
The national compliance rate for 2024 was just 72.8%, far below the 90% target.
Senator Sarah O'Reilly highlighted the impact of delays, stating that a four-week wait could increase the risk of death by 10%.
"Four weeks might not sound like much on paper, but for a person battling cancer it is an eternity.
It is four weeks of stress, uncertainty and potentially the disease advancing while they wait.
Delays due to resource shortages, administrative inefficiencies or a lack of capacity can have life-threatening consequences."
Minister of State Jennifer Murnane O'Connor acknowledged that more needs to be done
"The most up-to-date figures, from January 2025, show compliance of 81% compared with last year's compliance of 73%. I know that we need to do more, I totally understand the concerns there and it is something we are working on.
Staffing shortfall can be a significant factor in hospitals meeting the treatment target. While staffing continues to improve, more progress is needed and funding has been given this year to the implementation of recommendations of the national radiation therapist review report.
Downtime and the servicing of radiotherapy equipment can also result in challenges to treatment times and that seems to be another issue.
The HSE makes every effort to address this, including through the use of outsourcing where required.
This enables more timely access while improvements regarding staffing and other issues are being made.
The additional €23 million made available in budget 2025 for the national cancer strategy will support a further expansion in cancer services. This funding means that over €105 million has been invested in the strategy since 2017.
I understand that there is not a family in Ireland that has not been affected in some way by cancer. It is a priority for us as a Government."
