John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Minister cannot ignore the words of Kerry Lawless when she stated, "I was worn out. Beat down. Broke. Defeated. I couldn’t face another ten years". If one listens to the reply he has just given, however, while work is ongoing, the campaign for the recognition of Lyme disease has gone on for years but little or nothing has been done.

While the Minister is waiting for the report, the fact of the matter is that in France the Government has a model of care and understanding of Lyme disease that could be copied by this country. No effort is being made to inform the public in any meaningful way. The only organisation I see doing this is Tick Talk, and Ann Maher writes to the Minister on a regular basis on behalf of the organisation highlighting the issues and the costs of going to Germany for diagnosis and treatment. It is extremely unfair that people in this country who have Lyme disease can, like Kerry Lawless, be left undiagnosed from 2007 to 2017. We are ruining the lives of people. Simple mistakes are being made and not being recorded.

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