From 1 April 2026, we’ll start inviting people aged 57 and 71 to take part in BowelScreen. This means 116,000 more people will be eligible for free bowel screening.
When you will be invited to take part
- If you’re aged 57, we’ll invite you between your 57th and 59th birthday.
- We’ll continue to invite you every 2 years, up to age 71.
Why choose bowel screening
Bowel screening can save lives.
- It can prevent cancer from developing by finding and removing early signs of disease (small abnormal growths called polyps).
- It can help to find bowel cancer at an early stage when it’s usually easier to treat.
Just one test can reduce the chance of you developing bowel cancer in your lifetime.
Screening is for people who do not have symptoms of bowel cancer. If you have symptoms, go to your GP, even if you have had a recent bowel screening test that was normal.
What people say about BowelScreen
In our survey of 3,500 screening participants in 2024:
- most people (98.6%) said that the home test kit was easy to use
- most people (99.4%) said that the test kit leaflet was easy to read and understand
- 9 out of 10 people agreed their overall experience of BowelScreen was good.
How the test works
Bowel screening is a free, simple, test that you do at home at a time that suits you. It’s called a FIT kit (faecal immunochemical test).
- We post the FIT kit to you when you decide to take part. It comes in a small envelope that fits in most letter boxes. It will include information about how to do the test and you can watch this short video explaining how to use the BowelScreen home test kit.
- You put a sample of your poo on a small stick and place it into a tube. You post the sample back for free. This goes to the laboratory we use for testing.
- If you don’t send your test back, we send you a reminder by text message and if you need a new test kit, we will send it to you.
How to get your home test kit
We’ll send you a letter inviting you to take part.
When you get your letter, you can request your home test kit:
- online at hse.ie/bowelscreen
- by scanning the QR code on your letter
- by Freephone: 1800 45 45 55
- by email: info@bowelscreen.ie
Most people request their test kit online.
After you do your first test, we’ll send you a home test kit every 2 years. You do not need to request a kit again.
Your results
Most people (96 out of 100) get a normal result and we’ll send you another test in 2 years. If you have a certain amount of blood in your poo then your test will register as ‘not normal’, and we’ll refer you for a further test called a colonoscopy.
Colonoscopy
If you are referred for a colonoscopy, this will be done in in one of our 16 hospital endoscopy units.
We use a camera to look inside your bowel. We know that most bowel cancers develop from polyps. A colonoscopy will help to rule out or confirm that you have a polyp. Most polyps are removed during a colonoscopy. This is how we can prevent cancer developing and reduce the chance that you will get bowel cancer in the future.
Every year, about 3,000 people who did the BowelScreen test have polyps removed from their bowel. These are all potential cancers prevented.
A colonoscopy can also help to find a cancer. When bowel cancer is found at an early stage, it is easier to treat and more likely to be curable.
Only a small number of people (4 in 100) have a positive screening test result and are referred for a colonoscopy. Of the people who have a colonoscopy, about in 1 in 20 are found to have cancer.
Making BowelScreen accessible for everyone
- We have accessible information about BowelScreen including easy-to-read and plain English resources, and photo and video stories.
- We provide information videos about BowelScreen in 29 languages.
- We have an access officer available to help people with disabilities if they need support before, during and after screening: email access@bowelscreen.ie or Freephone 1800 45 45 55.
- Read more about how we’ve made BowelScreen available to more people since 2023.