The Minister for Health has approved a recommendation by the National Screening Advisory Committee (NSAC) to extend the BowelScreen age range to people aged 50 to 54. NSAC made the recommendation following its review of the findings of a Health Technology Assessment report by the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA).
We welcome this decision which reflects growing international evidence that providing bowel screening earlier improves health outcomes. BowelScreen is a proven, effective programme and this is a major step forward in cancer prevention and early detection for Ireland. It will bring our BowelScreen programme in line with the European Council’s 2022 recommendation for bowel screening.
What the Health Technology Assessment report said
In summary, the report highlights that lowering the age range to include people aged 50 to 54:
- is likely to reduce deaths from bowel cancer
- is expected to be a good use of resources
- will increase costs, which is expected to decline over time due to earlier cancer detection which reduces the need for more costly advanced-stage treatment
- will increase workload of healthcare services and staff involved in screening
- will need careful planning to avoid increases in waiting times for appointments and test results.
What this means for BowelScreen
The findings in the report are based on an assumed start date of 2031 for expanding the age range to those aged 50 to 54. This is dependent on the current expansion of bowel screening to people aged 55 to 74 being completed by 2030.
The report states that “lowering the screening age might need to happen slowly and would need to be carefully planned. This is because of the extra colonoscopies and other tests that will be needed by the people in the new age groups.”
When screening is extended to this new age group the report highlights that:
- when implemented, over 400,000 more people would be eligible for BowelScreen
- over 2,700 more colonoscopies may be needed each year together with additional histopathology and diagnostic testing
- more colonoscopies and additional tests may be needed each year if the uptake rate increases.
What happens next
The Minister for Health has requested that we start planning for the inclusion of people aged 50 to 54. The HIQA report acknowledges the additional capacity and funding that will be needed to achieve this.
The plans will set out how we will address the requirements identified by HIQA in their report, including:
- workforce expansion and specialist training
- increased endoscopy capacity to provide timely follow-up colonoscopies
- enhanced laboratory services to support increased testing
- increased CT colonography capacity
- increased diagnostic radiology capacity.
Delivery will be phased, collaborative and driven by service capacity. This will ensure that we continue to provide safe, high-quality and timely care.
BowelScreen was introduced to provide bowel screening to everyone aged 55 to 74. We began screening in 2012 for people aged 60 to 69. We have been expanding the BowelScreen age range in stages to ensure that everyone who needs it has access to follow-up tests and care.
Since October 2023, we have made BowelScreen available to 293,000 more people. From 1 April 2026, the eligible age range is 57 to 71.
With continued investment, and collaboration with our partners to increase service capacity, we aim to complete the current expansion to people aged 55 to 74 by 2030.
Getting the right care
BowelScreen is for people who do not have symptoms of bowel cancer.
People of all ages should:
- get to know the symptoms of bowel cancer
- go to their GP if they have any concerns.