Car T-Cell therapy was established in Ireland at Saint James Hospital, Dublin for the first time to adults in 2021 and children in 2022. Prior to this, patients from Ireland had to access this treatment abroad, mainly in the UK.
The Car T-Cell therapy service is currently being expanded to include University Hospital Galway (UHG) with the aim of opening the Car T-cell therapy service in UHG in Qtr. 3 2026. This site will provide Car T-cell therapy for adult patients in the south and west of the country, which will increase capacity nationally.
Infrastructure planning is the responsibility of the HSE. Requests for capital infrastructure funding are submitted in the first instance by the HSE and assessed through formal HSE and Department of Health processes to ensure that proposals are aligned with the Strategic Healthcare Investment Framework (SHIF). The Framework was developed to ensure that investments are evidence-based, equitable, and ensure Sláintecare reforms are achieved, with the overall objective of having better health outcomes for the population.
Ireland’s approach to cancer control has been guided by National Cancer Strategies since 1996. These have ensured that international best practice and evidence-based measures were adopted in our cancer services and they transformed cancer care and patient outcomes.
The Government is committed to the implementation of the National Cancer Strategy, supported by the reforms and investment delivered under Sláintecare. We have seen significant progress on the implementation of the Strategy over the past nine years.
As the current National Cancer Strategy comes to its conclusion, an evaluation on the current National Cancer Strategy will be carried out later this year. The evaluation will be carried out by my Department working closely with key stakeholders such as the HSE's National Cancer Control Programme and the National Cancer Registry of Ireland. The conclusion of this evaluation process will inform next steps to be taken in planning the next ten years of cancer control.
