Malcolm Byrne (Wicklow-Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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14. To ask the Minister for Health the strategies in place to tackle the high levels of osteoporosis and fracture falls in Ireland. [17293/26]

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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The Healthy Ireland framework provides a number of strategies to ensure everyone in Ireland can enjoy good health as they age, including the national physical activity framework and the obesity policy and action plan. One in three older women and one in five men are affected by osteoporosis. In 2023, the Department published healthy eating guidelines for adults aged 65 and over, which emphasise the importance of a healthy diet for older adults to maintain muscle mass and bone strength to support independent living. A HSE fracture liaison service pathway developed by the National Clinical Programme for Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgery promotes preventative community-based care as opposed to a reliance on reactive medicine, in line with Sláintecare reform.

This year my Department approved funding to the HSE to pilot a scalable, multidisciplinary falls and frailty prevention service for women aged 65 plus in Mayo, Galway, and Roscommon. This service particularly targets older women at increased risk of falling, frailty, mobility issues, fear of falling, chronic conditions or reduced function post-hospitalisation. The overall aim is to reduce falls and fractures and the demand for treatment and long-stay care in acute services. Falls assessments, along with osteoporosis drug treatments, are essential for fracture risk reduction and these are being progressed through the community access to diagnostics scheme and the Health (Pricing and Supply of Medical Goods) Act 2013.

We are also investing and supporting a range of different forms of exercise in the community. I do not wish to name communities but I have seen projects in Sligo, in my own constituency and in Limerick, which are encouraging safe exercise among people of all ages to develop their muscle mass and bone strength in a way that is not likely to lead to any injuries, but only to rejuvenation and greater strength. That is a hugely important part of living well as we age.

Malcolm Byrne (Wicklow-Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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The Minister has outlined what a serious issue it is, and the numbers impacted in this country by osteoporosis. We know there are approximately 32,000 fragility fractures every year and that is estimated to cost our health service approximately €464 million every year. That is not to forget the impact it has on the individual patients. Given our ageing population, if we do not address some of this, those costs could rise to close to €1 billion within a decade. I welcome the commitments toward healthier activity, particularly among older people. The Minister will be aware that there is a commitment in the programme for Government towards tax relief for gym membership to encourage people to build resistance and cope with falls. I hope when the issue of tax relief for gym membership is being considered that the Minister will support it.

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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The element of preventative care is crucial from the perspective of diet, lifestyle management and the ways in which people exercise. The gym membership piece is interesting but exercise is available in lots of different ways. I am seeing different forms of community exercise groups. There is a fantastic facility in a GAA centre in south Sligo and in other places. What you are doing is turning up as part of a community and going through the different machines. Whether people are post-hospital or post-diagnosis, using those safe, community facilities to build up their strength and bone mass is an important part of preventing illness, future falls and recovering. Of course, it is an extremely difficult situation to have the fear of falling particularly in the winter when weather is bad, and hospitals are already under pressure from respiratory illness. We have seen this winter in particular that combination of respiratory illness and falls from a prolonged period of bad weather. It does not help anybody and makes living as an older person that bit more difficult.