Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I return to the issues of screening and testing. I asked about the heel prick test for newborns. I think the former Belgian health minister told us there were 13 tests in Belgium, whereas we have nine. However, everyone seems to suggest it is the Italian model we need to follow. It does 40 tests. Has the possibility of expanding it out to that level been considered? It would give a better view of the landscape of people who have the disease, and the earlier it is identified, the better the outcomes. Would there be a huge cost in expanding it from the current nine to 40?

Is that what is delaying it or is it delayed by the pathways that Mr. Woods was talking about? When I talk to people from the support groups, they all come back to this. It is the one thing I do not understand. If we are going to spend a relatively small amount of money to do a test for nine diseases with the machinery and everything else we have nowadays, is it not a great deal easier to test for a greater number of diseases? Cost should not be a great factor. This is my first question on this issue.