Michael Mullins (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I join in the words of welcome to the Minister. I congratulate him on his appointment and wish him well in what is a very challenging Department and in the many challenges he will face in the coming year and a half. I know he is well up for the job and we in this House have every confidence that he will deliver.

I congratulate my colleague, Senator Martin Conway, on bringing forward this motion for debate. I applaud him and compliment him on his ongoing championing of disability issues. Senator Conway is an effective member of the House despite his disability or lack of vision. Certainly, he has plenty of vision when it comes to championing ideas and issues.

I welcome all the visitors to the House from the National Vision Coalition. The statistics are frightening. Five people per week go blind and in total 220,000 people in the country are either blind or vision-impaired. That figure is likely to increase by 20% by 2020. I strongly applaud the work of the National Vision Coalition in bringing together all the health care professionals, service users and those working in the sight loss community. I also applaud the coalition for the perfectly common-sense recommendations brought forward for a national vision strategy contained in Framework to Adopt a Strategic Approach for Vision Health in Ireland Report 2012.

Some of the principles in the report are very much to be applauded. One principle states that any future agenda must include the full agenda of eye health for children and adults with a major emphasis on prevention. Another suggests maximising quality and ensuring the safety of all who access services should be the first consideration at all times. The report states that all services and supports should be provided on a person-centred basis with a core emphasis on adopting a life course approach. It recommends that people with sight loss should have the supports in place to enable them to live fulfilled lives, exercise choice and have total control over their lives. It argues that services should be provided in a seamless manner and that resource allocation and service design should be guided by evidence-based approaches where equality of access to treatment, rehabilitation and support are prioritised.

There should be greater knowledge and public awareness. I hope the debate today will help to foster a better understanding of good eye health and protection. We need to educate the public about the detection of problems and the importance of recognising and discussing symptoms with the appropriate health care professionals.

I was a little concerned to hear a story today to the effect that there are extensive waiting lists in the HSE for people who wish to have a routine eye test. The tests are normally provided free of charge to people with sight impairment but some people must wait up to 47 months to receive an appointment. This is an issue I am keen for the Minister to examine. An eye test with a professional costs only €22.50. We are possibly short-changing people considerably in that regard.

There is a need for public health and education campaigns about the risk of eye disease and injury. These should target all the young people involved in sporting activities. People should be conscious of eye injury in their place of work. Those of us who do a little gardening potentially put our sight at risk when we use strimmers and gardening equipment. A public health campaign to educate people on the potential risks to their sight would be of benefit. We need to promote the importance of healthy lifestyle behaviours to prevent eye disease, especially chronic diseases that have implications for vision. We need to build on the capacity of our general practitioners, pharmacists and allied health professionals to provide advice and information to the public regarding the maintenance of good eye health.

As has been said, between 75% and 80% of blindness is preventable. In 2010 blindness and vision impairment cost €205 million to the Exchequer but investment in cost-effective interventions could save as much as €76 million per annum.

In supporting the motion of my colleague, Senator Conway, I hope the Minister will take on board the significant contributions that have been made on the importance of promoting good eye care, prevention and heightening awareness as well as providing the supports and resources for those who, unfortunately, no longer have full sight capacity. I thank the Minister for being present today for the debate and I look forward to hearing his response.