Cork councillor calls for lowering of BreastCheck ages

A Cork county councillor is calling for the minimum age of commencement for HSE BreastCheck, Ireland’s free breast screening service, to be lowered from 50 to 40 years of age.

Fianna Fáil councillor Ann Marie Ahern requested that Cork County Council write to health minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill to request a review of the HSE BreastCheck programme.

Ms Ahern outlined how BreastCheck has missed its screening targets in the last two years; according to figures released in response to a parliamentary question, the HSE screened 137,134 women in 2024, failing to reach its target of 195,000.

In 2023, the HSE screened just more than 166,000 women, falling short of a 185,000 target.

Ms Ahern’s motion at a recent county council meeting states that lowering the age of BreastCheck is to combat the shortfall, which puts lives at risk by causing delays in early detection and intervention of breast cancer.

On the issue of BreastCheck screening targets, Ms Ahern said: “It’s something that I’m not going to let go, and I’m going to keep bringing up as much as I can.

“When it comes to healthcare, prevention is certainly better than cure, and we need to act rather than react.

“It is imperative that we first look at lowering the age of 50 back to 40. Actually implement and be leaders in instrumentally stopping breast cancer from spreading any further than it already is."