Richard Boyd Barrett says throat cancer treatment has been successful

People Before Profit leader Richard Boyd Barrett said his treatment for throat cancer has been successful after months of treatment.

Speaking on RTE’s Today with Claire Byrne, the Dun Laoghaire TD said he had a scan “in the last week or so” that had shown the cancer has been “eliminated”.

He said: “It’s as good a result for the treatment I got as you can get.”

Mr Boyd Barrett, 58, said he had been diagnosed with cancer in April and stepped back from politics for several months.

In a statement on Friday, People Before Profit said he would “begin a phased return to the Dail”.

He told Ms Byrne he is “on my way back” adding he will “ease back into it” on the advice of his medical team, and asked his constituents for patience.

He said he will still have to be “monitored closely” and will have to have check-ups every three months for the next five years.

He described the treatment as “heavy”, with many side-effects. He said it was “tough” and that he was not yet 100%.

He thanked his medical teams, saying they have “given my life back to me”.

Mr Boyd Barrett said his throat had been damaged by the radiotherapy, which may make public speaking difficult, and that he could not eat solid food for three to four months.

He said he received “thousands” of messages of support from across the country and the political spectrum, which helped him through some “absolutely terrible days” when he “couldn’t even hold down a glass of water”.