Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

On 18 April, up to 50 people representing the diabetes community presented a petition with 18,000 signatures demanding access for all to new life-changing flash glucose monitoring technology that affects 20,000 people with type 1 diabetes. The petition highlighted the fact that from 3 April 2018 the HSE has made FreeStyle Libre available to children and young adults with type 1 diabetes aged four to 21 years. They very much welcome that. However, we note that in 18 other countries this technology been allocated to all patients with type 1 diabetes. As Ms Gráinne Flynn, one of the campaign leaders, has stated:

The FreeStyle Libre provides more information than a finger prick meter about glucose levels to base our insulin dosing decisions on. This is more than just a game changer in diabetes, it empowers us to manage our diabetes better, reducing the number of dangerous low and high glucose levels.

Why was this not introduced for everyone?

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