The main radiotherapy centre in the State, St Luke's Hospital, Dublin, has warned it is experiencing severe difficulties in meeting the rising demand for its services.
In its annual report, the hospital notes that radiotherapy patients almost doubled to over over 10,000 between 2001 and 2002.
Mr Padraic White, hospital chairman, said significant investment in the hospital's treatment capacity was urgently needed to allow swift aid to cancer patients and offer complex treatment combinations.
However, cancer specialists in other hospitals believe radiotherapy services should be based in a general hospital such as St James's rather than in a separate specialist centre.
The as yet unpublished but long-awaited Expert Group on Radiotherapy Services is expected to recommend siting radiotherapy centres of excellence in Dublin, Cork and Galway, but not in the southeast of the country.