Mulvihill calls for baseline health study

Cllr John Mulvihill

Cllr John Mulvihill jnr is today calling for the Minister for the Environment to carry out a base line health study of Cobh and the lower harbour area.Refering to figures optained from the national cancer registry which indicate a high level of cancer diagnoses in Cobh town 30% higher that the national average.
 
The figures indicate that 222 people were diagnosed with cancer in the town of  Cobh from the period 2001-2007. These figures mean that every eleven days over that period someone was diagnosed with cancer in the town of Cobh. If you look at the combined figures over the period from 1994-2007 it indicates that 433 cases were diagnosed in the town of cobh.
 
 
It is now 579 days  since the minister stated in the dail Wednesday, 2 Ju2008
Deputy John Gormley
“Yesterday I spoke to the residents about the idea of a baseline health study and, indeed, it has been suggested by my colleague, Senator Dan Boyle, for quite some time. I am  and I do not profess to have great knowledge in this area. Certainly, a baseline study is to be recommended and I will go to Cabinet with that.”
The only thing that has happened is that (based on the trends from 2001-2007) 63 more people have been diagnosed with cancer in the town of Cobh.
 
Referring to figures from the period which indicate that carrigaline  a town similar to cobh for the period 1994-2005, indicate was only 6% above the nation average.
 
While I am conscious that we are in tight financial circumstances the cost of this study would be worth every cent it would cost.The people of cob need to have Questions answered. And I am now calling on the minister to secure funding with out further delay there is not a family in Cobh that has not been touched the torture that is cancer. What we are dealing with here are peoples mothers, fathers, sons and daughters the figures I produce are real people.
 
 
In the town of cobh we have had the dark cloud of the Haulbowline the former Irish steel sight hanging over the town for many years the government is only now in the process of setting up a committee comprised of department of the environment, enterprise and employment and the OPW to draw up a plan to deal with the site. It is now 579 day since the story broke and the government is only now dealing with the issue, un fortunately a base line health study as I understand will not be part of the issues the committee will deal with. This is the least the people of cobh and lower harbour area need to clarify why there is a high level of cancer in the harbour area.
 
These families need question answered they deserve nothing less from their government.