Jerry Buttimer (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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At a meeting of this committee last Thursday, witnesses took issue with the Gardasil vaccination and referred to the need for ongoing support for their daughters' ongoing care. We also met people on the subject of Huntington's disease. Subsequent to our meeting in January, we wrote to Mr. O'Brien about the issues identified by the group lobbying on behalf of those with that disease. Fibromyalgia and asthma have also been raised. It was said to us that kidney transplant patients had their treatment stopped because they were over the income threshold.

The medical card review group reported in September of last year that there was no internationally accepted list of diseases, prioritised according to severity, and referred to the need to move away from purely financial assessments and consider the quality of life of an individual rather than just the disease or condition. I apologise for being a little long-winded. With regard to eligibility for ongoing supports, is there any movement that might benefit the people I have just mentioned? This committee meets their lobby groups and advocates on an ongoing basis.