BreastCheck is for women aged 50 to 69 who have no symptoms of breast cancer.
We have 4 regional BreastCheck centres – 2 in Dublin, 1 in Cork and 1 in Galway. We have 24 mobile units that move between 54 locations across the country, bringing BreastCheck closer to you.
We update the locations of our mobile units regularly on our website. If you are eligible for BreastCheck, we’ll invite you when one of our mobile units is next in your area.
When you will get your invite
We aim to invite you for your first breast screening between the ages of 50 and 52 and every 2 years after that, up to the age of 69.
- Some women will get their first invitation at aged 50.
- Some women will get their first invitation at aged 53.
Most women will be screened every 2 years. This may be longer for some women. One of the reasons for this is the increase in our population.
Numbers of women eligible for BreastCheck
The number of women eligible for breast screening has grown from 524,000 in 2019 to 625,000 in 2025. This increase in the eligible population is challenging because:
- we screened less women in 2020 and 2021 due to COVID-19, which interrupted our cycle of 2-yearly screening invitations
- our clinical staff numbers have not grown at the same rate as the eligible population for screening.
Planning and managing invitations and appointments
We offer a complete onward service to women who need it. This includes diagnosis, treatment and surgery. About 1 in 20 women will be recalled for assessment and the majority of these will not need treatment. We carefully manage invitations to match our assessment and treatment capacity so that women will not have to wait too long for an appointment.
We prioritise reaching women who can benefit most from screening, ensuring they are supported to take part in screening. This includes:
- women who are due their first screening appointment
- women who have never been screened before
- women who are due their screening for the longest period
- women who may face more barriers in accessing our services such as those from marginalised groups.
We ask women to give us at least 3 days’ notice to cancel or change an appointment. We can offer the appointment to someone else. This helps us to fill every available appointment time and increase our capacity to screen more women.
We support women who need extra time for screening. We’re seeing an increase in the number of appointments that take more time. There are a number of reasons for this including other health-related matters that make screening more complex and women who have additional language needs. We are working to increase our capacity and efficiencies to enable us to accommodate all of these needs.
Steps we have taken to increase our capacity to screen more women
- We have introduced 3 new mobile units since 2020.
- We introduced a new and improved BreastCheck patient database system in 2024. It is helping to make our work more efficient so that we can spend more time caring for patients.
- We have introduced a text messaging system to remind women about their screening appointments. This is to help reduce the numbers who do not attend so that we can fill every available appointment time.
- We are actively recruiting radiologists and radiographers. We have recruited 12 consultants and 18 senior radiographers since January 2023.
Future planning to improve outcomes for women
We’ll continue to look at the best evidence available to improve screening outcomes for women. As technology improves and more data and research become available, approaches to breast cancer screening may evolve.
- We’re exploring the potential benefits and opportunities in using AI in breast cancer screening.
- We are looking at potential locations with a large population where we could have another permanent screening unit and screen more women.
- We are working to provide women with their BreastCheck information through the new HSE Health App. This will help us to free up more time for screening and to fill every available appointment time.
Supporting women to choose screening
We work to improve equity in screening, to address the barriers to screening and to make screening more accessible to everyone.
- We provide information about our screening programmes in accessible formats including easy-to-read and plain English resources, and visual stories using photos and videos.
- We have videos available in multiple languages.
- We have videos with Irish Sign Language.
- We work with communities and train community health workers to support people to take part in screening.
- We train our staff to support disabled people to access screening.
- We have a designated Access Officer for BreastCheck who is the point of contact for people with disabilities who need support before, during and after screening.
Take control of your breast health
If you think you might have symptoms of breast cancer, or have any concerns about your breast health, you should not come for screening. Talk to your GP without delay. BreastCheck is for women who have no symptoms of breast cancer.
Every year, BreastCheck finds around one-third of all breast cancer cases in Ireland. The other two-thirds of cases are diagnosed in women who have symptoms. We have loads of resources to help you to take control of your breast health:
- get to know the symptoms of breast cancer
- how to check your breasts
- a video to support you to become more breast aware
- what you can do to reduce the risk of breast cancer.
Breast screening can save lives
We know from research that BreastCheck saves lives. Our breast cancer detection rate is one of the highest in Europe. This means that BreastCheck is doing what it was set up to do – find breast cancer at an early stage when it can be easier to treat.
We are grateful to women who share their stories with us and encourage other women to choose screening. In 2021, Dympna Cremin was diagnosed with breast cancer after a screening mammogram with BreastCheck. After having successful surgery and radiotherapy, Dympna shared her story to encourage other women to go for screening every time they’re invited.
Coming for screening every time you’re invited helps us to build up a picture of your breast health over time. This can help us to find any changes in your breasts. If you are aged 50 to 69, make sure you are on the BreastCheck register and check that we have your up-to-date contact details so that you can get your invitation to screening and your results.