People aged 59 in Northern Ireland will begin receiving bowel cancer screening invitations from 2 November. The phased expansion will see 58-year-olds join from April 2027, with the age of eligibility gradually lowering until everyone aged 50 to 74 is included by 2031.

Health Minister Robbie Butler said the change would help identify cancers earlier, when treatment is most effective. He urged everyone who receives a screening kit to take part, saying bowel cancer screening saves lives.

The programme currently invites people aged 60 to 74 every two years. It uses a faecal immunochemical test, known as FIT, which checks a stool sample for traces of blood and can be completed at home.

Professor Lourda Geoghegan, Deputy Chief Medical Officer, said once fully implemented the programme will invite an additional 135,000 people each year, an 80% increase on current levels. She said a phased rollout would ensure screening, diagnostic and treatment services can manage the increased demand.

More than 1,300 people are diagnosed with colorectal cancer each year in Northern Ireland. Screening is one of the most effective ways to detect the disease early, Professor Geoghegan said, and can also identify changes in the bowel before cancer develops.

The expansion is expected to deliver annual health service savings of between £1.7 million and £2 million once fully implemented, according to Mr Butler. He thanked health staff and officials who prepared the infrastructure and arrangements for the rollout.

Genevieve Edwards, chief executive of Bowel Cancer UK, welcomed the funding for the phased extension. She said it would give thousands more people the opportunity to take part in screening and find more cancers earlier, when they are easier to treat.

Anyone with possible symptoms should contact their GP rather than wait for an invitation. Screening is intended for people without symptoms, and different tests are used to investigate signs of possible bowel cancer.

The announcement means Northern Ireland will remain behind England, Scotland and Wales, where people aged 50 to 74 are already automatically sent screening kits. Northern Ireland will not reach that age range until 2031. The threshold for blood in stool that triggers further investigation is also higher in Northern Ireland at 120 micrograms per gram of faeces, compared with 80 micrograms elsewhere in the UK. Data collected during the rollout will be used to inform future reductions to this threshold.