Robbie Gallagher (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The old adage that prevention is better than cure springs to mind when one considers the gap we have in screening newborn children in this country. Unfortunately, we are very much a negative outlier in Europe on this. We are in the bottom half of the table, which is very disappointing. There had been developments quite recently in this regard in that a newborn screening advisory committee was set up in 2019 but unfortunately, in the intervening five-year period, only one new test has been delivered, which is very disappointing. Developments appear to be far too slow.

Newborn screening directly impacts the lives of every child born in this country. It is estimated that approximately 200 babies' lives could be saved if we had a comprehensive programme in place. Indeed, the health outcomes for those children would also be very much improved. The benefits of early screening include earlier treatment and better health outcomes. Delayed diagnosis adds a great deal of stress and financial pressure on families and, ultimately, on the health service itself. It makes perfect sense to have a comprehensive screening process in place for all newborn babies in this country but for some reason, we are dragging our feet. In that context, I would be very grateful if the Acting Leader would write to the Minister for Health and ask for an update on where we are in relation to the screening of newborn babies and what plans we have to advance this urgently so that we can be on a par with our EU colleagues.