The HSE has confirmed that a mobile breast check screening service is not being withdrawn from Clare, but is being temporarily redeployed.
It’s follows a petition calling for a dedicated unit in this county, which has attracted over 5,000 signatures.
The National Screening Service operates 24 mobile breast check units nationwide, rotating between 54 locations.
Eligible women are invited for screening every two years, and once the local list is cleared in an area, the mobile unit moves to another area.
The unit currently based at Áras Contae An Chláir in Ennis has now cleared the bulk of its list and is due to move more than 200 kilometres away to Ballina in Mayo on Friday.
Ennis Fine Gael Councillor and HSE Regional Health Forum West member Mary Howard says she would ideally like to see a permanent unit in the county town, but insists the unit must operate efficiently and screen as many women as possible, rather than lying idle.
An online petition launched by Clare Aontú representative June Dillon, calling for a dedicated BreastCheck unit for this county has so far attracted over 5,300 signatures.
The closest mammogram centres now available to patients here are the permanent facility in Galway and mobile units in Limerick and Nenagh.
According to the HSE, 40% of women invited for a BreastCheck appointment don’t attend, while 30% miss follow-up appointments.
Doonbeg Fianna Fáil Councillor Rita McInerney is confident the mobile unit will return to Ennis within18 months, based on previous experience, but says it’s vital that patients attend when called.
Listen to the full interview here:
HSE Statement
BreastCheck is continuing to provide breast screening for women in Co Clare. The Ennis unit is a mobile screening unit, rather than a permanent clinic. It has moved in and out of Clare over the years and will continue to do so. Mobile units allow us to bring breast screening closer to women in communities around the country. They stay in an area while we invite and screen eligible women and then move to another area before returning again when women in that area are next due to be screened. Mobiles are especially useful in areas such as Clare, where the number of women eligible to be screened every 2 years is not large enough to keep our screeners working there all year, every year.
BreastCheck in Clare
BreastCheck has been screening women at its mobile unit at Clare County Council Offices in Ennis since 26 February 2024. We have invited 17,000 women to Ennis for screening during this screening round, with 12,000 women attending. We will finish this round of screening shortly, and our mobile unit will then move to its next location. We will return to Ennis in September 2027.
BreastCheck plans screening around the populations served by each unit, rather than county boundaries. Women are invited according to their District Electoral Division (DED), which means that for a small number of women the most appropriate BreastCheck unit may be in a neighbouring county. For women in Clare, this can include mobile units in Limerick, Nenagh or Gort, depending on where they live and where our mobile units are stationed. All women in the West of Ireland who need a follow-up assessment are invited to our permanent BreastCheck unit in Galway.
We ask women to contact us if an appointment date or location does not suit. We are happy to schedule another date or BreastCheck location. We also ask women to check the register on hse/breastcheck.ie to make sure we have their current address and contact details so we can invite them for screening.
Public consultation
The movement of the Ennis mobile unit is part of the normal operation of our mobile screening service, rather than a closure or withdrawal of BreastCheck services from Clare. Women in Clare can contact BreastCheck on 1800 45 45 55 or [email protected] if they are now becoming eligible for screening and do not wish to wait until our unit returns to Ennis. We will offer them an appointment or another screening location. Screening locations are on the website, hse/breastcheck.ie: Find a BreastCheck Unit.
Access to breast screening
BreastCheck offers breast screening to women aged 50 to 69. Most women receive their first invitation between the ages of 50 and 52, in line with our Charter. After their first screen, we invite women for screening every 2 to 3 years, depending on when we are next screening in their area. This means that an individual woman’s appointment will not necessarily fall at age 50 or exactly 2 years after her previous screening date.
BreastCheck sends a welcome letter to women who are on the register when it is screening in their area to explain how we will invite them for screening, followed by an appointment letter. We send them a second appointment letter if they do not attend their first appointment. We invite them again for screening in 2 to 3 years time. Women who use the HSE Health App also receive screening invitations and reminders digitally, can access information about their appointment and screening location, and manage their appointment easily.
Almost 40% of women do not attend the first screening appointment they are offered. When women are offered a second appointment, 30% do not attend. We encourage women to attend their breast screening appointments or to contact us if they need to rearrange.
If a woman cannot attend her appointment, we can offer her screening on another date, or an appointment at a different location. Letting us know also means the programme can offer your original appointment to another woman in your community.
If a woman’s mammogram is due before a BreastCheck mobile unit is in her area, she can ask for an appointment at another BreastCheck unit. She may need to travel further to attend this appointment.
We want to make it as easy as possible for women to attend breast screening. We can support women by:
offering a different appointment date or time
offering an appointment at a different location
providing accessible facilities and resources if you have additional needs
providing clear, accessible information about breast screening.
We encourage women to get in touch with our BreastCheck team to discuss their appointment so we can do our best to support them. Contact us to discuss appointments using the details on the invitation letter, by phone on 1800 45 45 55 or by emailing [email protected].
For more details on how our mobiles move around to serve every community, see our graphic below. More information is also available in our Breast Cancer Awareness Month 2026 Partner Pack.
