Two cancer treatment units which are being opened today at Cork University Hospital will allow patients from Munster who previously had to travel to Dublin for treatment to receive care in Cork.
The Minister for Health, Mr Martin, will today officially open the €13.5 million project, which includes an internal radiation, or brachytherapy, unit and a refurbished and extended radiotherapy unit.
The brachytherapy unit, the first of its kind in Ireland, involves an advanced form of cancer treatment in which sources of radioactivity are implanted in or near cancer cells so as to minimise radiation exposure to surrounding tissue.
Dr Maurice Hurley, head of the division of oncology at CUH, said the unit, which is used to treat people suffering from cancer of the uterus, cervix or tongue, would mean a huge improvement in treatment.
"Up until six months ago, patients from Cork, Kerry, Waterford and Limerick had to travel to Dublin for brachytherapy.
"The brachytherapy suite is filmless and fully integrated which means the length of a patient's treatment session is reduced from two days down to only 1¼ hours."
Mr Martin said it was the Government's intention to create a state-of-the-art centre of excellence for such treatment in Munster.
He has approved the purchase of two linear accelerators, which are used to deliver radiation therapy, to add to the two existing machines.