Waterford and Clonmel marchers demand action
About 15,000 people marched in Waterford City today to demand the Government build a radiotherapy unit in the south east.
And a crowd of between 5,000 and 6,000 gathered in Clonmel in Co Tipperary to call on the Government to provide funds for a local hospital, Gardai said.
The Waterford marchers gathered to protest at the fact people have to travel to Dublin to receive some specialised treatment.
“This is about lives. People were turning out for their families. There are people there who had cancer. It is a powerful statement of the people of the south east,” said Independent TD Dr Jerry Crowley of the Cancer Care Alliance.
Currently patients have to travel to the cancer units in hospitals in Dublin, Galway or Cork to receive radiotherapy treatment.
The Cancer Care Alliance is made up of cancer groups, patients, medical and nursing organisations and local activists calling on the Government to expand their radiotherapy services and improve oncology treatment.
It is estimated around 21,000 people will develop cancer this year and 7,800 could die from the disease.
Meanwhile protestors in Clonmel in Co Tipperary called on the Government to provide funds for a local hospital.
The marchers wanted the new wing at St Joseph’s Hospital in Clonmel, which was completed 15 months ago, to be opened.
Protesters said the wing had not been given enough funds to open.
