John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the lung fibrosis team and the witnesses. Just like my colleagues, I am very taken with the content of what the witnesses say and the reality of the lives affected. I am familiar with some of it. Before I ask them a few questions based on the opening statements, I wish to point to the importance of not underestimating the power of advocacy. It is an easy thing for me to say, but one of the things I have learned as a public representative over the years is that you come in - certainly, I came in in my first term - and you think you can solve everything and be all things to all men and women. In the second term you realise that will never happen. I think we all think we can maybe focus on one or two individual things and try to make a difference there. Certainly, in this, my second Dáil term, I have seen progress in areas on which I focused, and that was a result of powerful, often quiet advocacy on behalf of people involved in NGOs like the witnesses. If sometimes it feels like they are banging their heads off the wall, sometimes the penny is dropping. They may not see it dropping but it is dropping with people and we are all trying to do little bits. There are some things I am very happy to take on here.

I wish to ask the CEO of the Irish Lung Fibrosis Association a couple of questions. Why does ILFA not receive any State funding, how long has that gone on, and how much does it cost to run ILFA?