Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

This week is Parkinson's Awareness Week and last Saturday I attended the launch of a Parkinson’s bus in Bandon heralded by a champion for those with Parkinson's in west Cork, Tony Wilkinson, along with Parkinson's sufferers. Many people assume that Parkinson's affects the older generation but one in 20 diagnosed with the condition is under 40 years of age. The Government does not give any funding to the Parkinson's Association of Ireland. We have only five Parkinson's specialised nurses in Ireland and three of these are based in Dublin. There are 30 specialised Parkinson's nurses in Northern Ireland. Deep brain stimulation is vital for Parkinson's sufferers but this surgery is not carried out in Ireland and patients have to travel to Bristol, Liverpool or Oxford for it. Tomorrow, hundreds of Parkinson's sufferers and their families will travel to the Dáil, not to protest but to highlight how poorly Parkinson's sufferers are treated in this country. How can we as a country address the major shortcomings on so many fronts in treating Parkinson's sufferers?

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