Bowel Cancer Awareness Month
Peter Larner and Mary Kennedy, BowelScreen patient advocates who talked about their experiences of having bowel cancer diagnosed through screening.
On 1st April BowelScreen increased the eligible age range to 57-71, which means 116,000* more people are now eligible for free bowel screening.
This is the fourth expansion of the eligible age range since 2023 and makes Ireland’s free bowel screening programme available to 293,000 more people since October 2023.
Over time, BowelScreen will expand the screening programme to people aged 55 to 74.
We would appreciate it if you could update your printed and online information resources to reflect the latest age and the additional information below.
When you will get your invitation
- BowelScreen invite people for screening every two years
- 57-year-olds can expect their first invitation for bowel screening between their 57th and 59th birthday
- People aged 71 who have previously taken part will be offered their next test when they are due
- If you have never taken part in bowel screening and are in the age range, you can request a free test kit using our online register at hse.ie/bowelscreen
- Most eligible people are on our register. If you haven’t received a test when expected, you can visit hse.ie/bowelscreen to check you are on our register, provide your contact details, and find out when your test is due.
Extending BowelScreen to 50 year olds
On 14 April, the Minister for Health announced the decision to approve the National Screening Advisory Committee recommendation to extend the eligibility of BowelScreen to people aged 50 to 54.
Fiona Murphy, NSS Chief Executive, said of the announcement: “The Minister’s decision to expand BowelScreen is an important step for people across Ireland and reflects strong evidence that starting bowel screening earlier can save lives. By extending bowel screening to younger age groups, we can prevent cancer developing altogether for many people and also find cancer earlier – when it is generally easier to treat. This expansion means more people will have access to a simple, free test they can do at home, giving them reassurance and, where needed, timely care and treatment.
“We are committed to rolling out this expansion and our focus now is on careful planning so we can expand the programme safely and sustainably, ensuring that everyone who takes part can access the follow-up care they need. We would encourage all those invited to take up this opportunity to protect their health.”
HIQA’s Health Technology Assessment acknowledges the additional capacity that will be required to extend screening to people aged 50 to 54. This includes workforce expansion and training, sufficient capacity to provide timely follow-up colonoscopies for people with positive screening results, and increased laboratory capacity to support testing volumes.
Delivery will be phased, collaborative and driven by service capacity. This will ensure that we continue to provide safe, high-quality and timely care. Read more
Reporting on a record year for screening
Our 2025 end of year report shows that more people than ever took part in screening, while we improved access, strengthened quality and built a stronger, more future-ready service.
Key progress included:
- easier access to screening with new digital tools such as the enhanced BowelScreen online register and BreastCheck appointment information on the HSE Health App
- advancing equity through community-led initiatives bringing screening to more people
- more staff to meet increasing population demand
- reinforcing operational excellence through strengthened governance and quality, and
- stronger patient involvement through our Patient and Public Partnership and working with patient advocates.
The potential of AI in breast screening
Professor Gerald Lip, project lead for Scotland’s GEMINI evaluation of AI in breast screening and member of the NSS AI Strategic Advisory Committee recently shared insights with the Medical Independent into how AI can safely support radiologists as a “second pair of eyes” in breast screening.
He discusses how AI supported the detection of more breast cancers, particularly small, early-stage cancers. How it worked alongside expert human readers – not as a replacement for clinical judgement. And how it has the potential to support faster results and reduce anxiety for women.
New European guidelines on cervical screening published
Professor Nóirín Russell, Clinical Director, CervicalCheck has written a blog about the new European guidelines on cervical screening.
The work of the EC-CvC Expert Working Group is led by scientists from the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC).
For the first time, the guidelines take account of HPV vaccination and suggest different screening approaches based on risk.
