Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I wish a happy St. Brigid's Day to the Deputy as well. The Deputy makes a number of very important points. This condition seems to be rising in prevalence among the population, with an impact on people at a younger age. The Deputy mentioned statistics concerning children and that huge increase is quite revealing in that regard. It is not for me to give medical advice to people but there are a number of actions people can take to help manage that condition. How we can put public information campaigns and strategies in place is something on which I would be very eager to work with the Deputy.

Some of the Deputy's points on access to diagnostics, waiting times etc. come back to how we deal with chronic disease management and whether we can do more of it in primary care. This relates somewhat to the previous schedule about empowering GPs in primary care to help look after chronic disease management. That is instead of people not finding Crohn's disease or colitis until it is nearly too late and having seen a significant flare-up. I would be very happy to engage further with the Deputy on this and meet people to see how we can put better strategies in place.

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