Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I met a group of people today, mainly parents and siblings whose loved ones and family members are suffering with Lyme disease. It is time to tackle Lyme. They met the Tánaiste in 2015. They have met with so many people. All they want is quality of care and proper lab tests, which are available in Germany, to be recognised here. These people are getting old. They are parents and have adult children now. They are worried about their future because this is a long term illness. They want some quality of life, some treatments and a recognition of the disease. Above all, they want an awareness campaign especially in the forests, woodlands and other places with signs put up to advise people that they might get this bite unknown to themselves and become very sick. There is a need for the Government to recognise this and deal with it. It is not fair to have parents of adult children and younger having to come here to protest - they are very peaceful and dignified - to make their case.

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