Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Deputy Ó Caoláin has already asked a question regarding the new national children's hospital and the connection with Crumlin hospital, and I was going to ask something similar. It is a good news story that people are living a little bit longer, but do they have the necessary services? In recent years, I have met only two people with cystic fibrosis. One is a young lad who lives beside me, and the other is a young girl whose baby was diagnosed with cystic fibrosis. Within 24 hours of the baby having been born, her life changed because she got the sad news. There was great joy when the baby was born but then the sad news came that the infant had a life-threatening illness. That child is now 11 or 12 years of age.

I do not have a lot of experience of meeting people with cystic fibrosis. I do not know why Ireland has the highest incidence of cystic fibrosis. Have studies been undertaken on why this is so? Is it genetic or is it something to do with lifestyle? It is not the normal illness that one hears about on a daily basis.