Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. Cystic fibrosis is Ireland's most common life-threatening inherited disease. The Government is acutely aware of the challenges that people with cystic fibrosis, and their families, face in managing their condition and fully acknowledges the need for, and supports, the provision of dedicated accommodation in an environment which allows appropriate isolation for improved infection control. Given the need to avoid the exposure of CF patients to possible sources of infection, the aim is to minimise, wherever possible, the need to admit such patients to hospital and instead to provide treatment on an ambulatory day care basis as close as possible to home.

A cystic fibrosis clinical programme has been established as one of the HSE's national clinical programmes. Its aim is to provide the framework to ensure patients with CF receive optimal care to preserve and enhance their quality of life as well as improve health outcomes and well-being.

I commend Build4Life on raising €2.3 million to fund the development of a CF unit in Cork University Hospital. It is a tremendous achievement and I am pleased we were in a position to support it though the provision of national lottery funding of €300,000. Cork University Hospital has an adult and a paediatric centre for patients with CF and caters for the clinical needs of almost 25% of the CF population in Ireland.

In October 2011 a cystic fibrosis outpatient facility was opened to provide dedicated facilities. The project was completed with the local philanthropic support of Build4Life. Without that support, it would have taken far longer to provide the facility. Cork University Hospital, CUH, and the HSE minor capital funding programme also contributed. Again, I am pleased we were able to allocate €200,000 from the national lottery building fund to Build4Life toward this project.

Other significant investments in services for people with cystic fibrosis in recent years include the dedicated CF unit in the new Nutley wing at St. Vincent's University Hospital, built at a cost of €29 million and opened in 2012; the development of a new purpose-built dedicated ambulatory outpatient facility at Beaumont Hospital for patients with CF; and the introduction of newborn screening for cystic fibrosis, launched in July 2011. Babies diagnosed through newborn screening have improved nutrition and lung function, fewer admissions to hospital, require fewer antibiotics and have improved survival. The new cystic fibrosis drug, Kalydeco, was made available in February 2013. It is estimated that approximately 120 patients will be suitable for treatment with the new drug. I know from personal experience that it has made a remarkable difference to people's lives.

Other capital projects under way include a dedicated paediatric outpatient unit at University Hospital Galway, a day unit attached to the paediatric outpatient department at Mayo General Hospital and a unit in the Mid-Western Regional Hospital, Limerick.

The HSE and Build4Life are working together closely to resolve any issues to allow this service to commence as soon as possible. I assure the Deputy that the Government is fully committed to providing the best possible services for CF patients and we will continue to work with all stakeholders.

I call on the Deputy to allow the debate to finish at this stage. As he is probably aware, we are involved in a process in Cork that we hope will reach a conclusion shortly. I trust the process and its conclusion will ensure the CF unit will be built shortly and will provide all the necessary safeguards Build4Life has sought. The meetings are ongoing and we will have another meeting at the end of this week. They have been successful and constructive meetings and I would appreciate it if the process was allowed to continue.

See this speech in context