Paul Gogarty (Dublin Mid West, Independent)

I know the Minister would be kept up to date on the reports of the subgroups and as she mentioned there have been 16 of them so far and there will be a few more before we get the final report. Can she focus in some way on getting to monitor the specialists? Is there any scope to bring in experts from Northern Ireland, Scotland or England as part of one of the subgroups or is this already happening? This area is not a very well covered nationally but it is hugely important. Hearing loss is a major issue in Ireland and there is a certain stigma associated with it, which is why the WHO made recommendations about having an holistic policy in the first place. I welcome the Minister's response and hopefully we will get to the consultation stage soon.

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