Patient treatment time for certain kinds of cancer will be reduced from two days to an hour and a quarter, following the opening of a new cancer treatment unit at Cork University Hospital.
Up to now patients in Munster with cancer of the uterus, cervix or tongue had to travel to Dublin for brachytherapy treatment.
The Minister for Health, Micheál Martin, also officially opened an extended and refurbished Radiotherapy Unit, where more than 20,000 patients are treated annually.
The total cost of the investment is €13.5m.
Since the 1996 National Cancer Strategy, more than €57m has been provided to the Southern Health Board by the Health Department.
