Shane Ross (Independent)

In the spirit of goodwill being expressed by all parties in the House, I do not doubt that the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government will accede to my request in a fit of Easter generosity.

I wish to raise the issue of the need for the Department of Health and Children to secure core funding for the Irish Osteoporosis Society. It is obviously a delicate matter when one addresses the relationship between the HSE and voluntary societies such as the Irish Osteoporosis Society. However, there is a middle way whereby both the Irish Osteoporosis Society and sufferers from osteoporosis can benefit if the HSE and the Department take a rational view of their activities. If core funding were given to the Irish Osteoporosis Society on an annual basis, it would not only be more efficient for the HSE, it would be in the interests of patients and would also save a certain amount of money for the Exchequer.

Osteoporosis is a somewhat under-appreciated disease in Ireland and its extent is not properly recognised. The statistics which have come to my attention, thanks to the information provided by a very dear constituent, are staggering in the detail they give about the extent to which osteoporosis is prevalent in this country. As everybody knows, the real danger of osteoporosis — its lethal nature — is that it is not immediately detectable and many people suffer from it but do not discover they have it until they break bones. Prevention would certainly benefit patients — obviously, as they would not be invalided — but it also might benefit the Exchequer.

One in three persons over the age of 50 suffers from osteoporosis, which is a pretty staggering figure. Some 20% of those who get hip fractures from osteoporosis die within one year and 50% are demobilised. That is the human element. If hip replacements are necessary and are given to patients, the cost is €26,000 per hip replacement, which is a huge cost to the State. We are in a win-win situation if we can give core funding to the Irish Osteoporosis Society because not only would many people perhaps have their lives saved but much damage and many injuries could be prevented. This is why it is so important that it should be considered as a vital part of improving the health service.

Osteoporosis affects one in five men and one in three women, and one in two people over the age of 65. It also affects children, which is not so widely appreciated. It is a silent disease. The Irish Osteoporosis Society is the only real point of information for the public about the disease. It provides a fantastic service in an almost impossible situation. The society was given €250,000 in 2007 by the HSE but this was not necessarily on an annual basis and it is now living in a kind of limbo, not knowing what it will get this year or next year. As a result, it has one office with a staff of just two in Pearse Street, which is in the Minister's constituency so he will be familiar with it. One member of staff is working at least a 70-hour week to try to combat this disease.

It seems logical, sensible and humane that this service should be properly extended and that at least there should be some permanent and regular form of funding. How in the name of God can an organisation like the Irish Osteoporosis Society manage to recruit efficient, dedicated people to its flag if it does not know whether it will be in existence in a year's time? Very few people would take jobs on that basis. It is important for the Minister to resolve that uncertainty by promising regular core funding for the society.

This is an opportunity for the Government to save money. It has been slow to respond to the demands of this great organisation. Only EU regulations and EU pressure, not local pressure, persuaded the Government to give this funding in 2007. It is an opportunity for the Government to reconsider its attitude and to invest in an organisation that can reduce hospital costs. If more funds are made available there would be fewer journeys to accident and emergency units with breaks and fractures and this would free up hospital beds. This is an extensive problem as osteoporosis affects so many people. In turn, this would free up money which the HSE could distribute in other areas.

We have seen the HSE making ham-fisted efforts at saving money, especially in the dispute with pharmacies and in other areas. Here is an opportunity for the HSE to save money and to do so in the long term while also improving the health of the nation. I urge the Minister not just to consider this but to give a commitment that funding will be available to the Irish Osteoporosis Society to continue and expand its work to prevent this disease and to save the State money.