Sandra McLellan (Cork East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the witnesses and thank them for their presentations. I would like to make a few small points. The statistic that stands out is that a very high percentage - 75% - of blindness is preventable. The witnesses mentioned that the financial cost of sight loss to the State, which was €336 million in 2010, will increase to €449 million, which is a huge amount, by 2020. Will blindness become a greater challenge as people live longer? While I accept that there is a need for a national vision strategy, I wonder what plan or strategy we are working from at present. The examples of Denmark and Scotland have been mentioned as models of best practice. The witnesses mentioned that retinopathy has been reduced by 50% in Scotland. What treatment was used there?