Dan Neville (Limerick, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his comprehensive reply. He highlighted that prevention is better than cure. This can be an issue for people who travel abroad, in particular for those who participate in mountaineering and outdoor activities. They can return home feeling ill and sometimes it is difficult to identify that Lyme disease is the cause, as the Minister outlined. I welcome the fact awareness week raised awareness of Lyme disease. The Lyme disease group appeared before the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health and Children approximately 12 months ago and asked for a committee to be set up, so I welcome the fact the Minister has established a sub-committee to look at this issue.

Does the Minister agree that many medical professionals are not aware of, or do not fully appreciate, the fact that one of the symptoms could be due to Lyme disease? Is the medical profession advised to identify Lyme disease if one of the symptoms is presented? Is there a programme to advise and update the medical profession on the developments surrounding Lyme disease? When representatives of the group appeared before the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children last year, they raised some concern about the awareness of the disease among the medical profession and a level of denial on occasion in regard to the identification and treatment of the disease.

I accept the Department of Health has identified that it is a notifiable disease and that means it is identified as a very serious one, which is welcome. However, what is required is more dissemination of information, which the Minister has commenced, understanding among the medical profession, raising awareness among the general population to look out for the symptoms and ensuring that the very important protections the Minister mentioned are used by the public when travelling into areas where there is a high chance of contracting the disease.

When this issue was presented to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health and Children, most members were unaware of the presence of such a disease. The session we had with experts and the group were very informative.

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