Marie Moloney (Labour) | Oireachtas source

On Tuesday afternoon in the House we had a lovely afternoon with our young Senators, as we called them, transition year students from all over Ireland.

I congratulate the organisers of that event. We saw a wealth of talent from across the country. What we did not know, however, was that sitting in these seats was a 16-year-old girl who was suffering from narcolepsy as a result of a swine flu vaccination. A group called Sound has been established for the sufferers of unique narcolepsy disorders. Its members have met the Minister for Health who commissioned a report which has since been published. Some 54 children in Ireland are suffering from narcolepsy and they are represented by this group, Sound. The Minister has granted them temporary medical cards but has also promised to put in place a support package.

Many Senators and TDs are unaware of what is going on in this regard, so I have organised a briefing for all Oireachtas Members in the audio-visual room in the coming weeks. I hope that all Members will attend it to meet with some of the children who are suffering from this disorder, as well as their parents.

Can the Leader request the Minister for Health, Deputy Reilly, to attend the House? I would prefer to have a question and answer session with the Minister, rather than being confined to speaking on a Bill or other measure before us. Senators have other issues they would like to discuss with the Minister also. If the Minister wishes to do his homework, we can give him the topics in advance. The last such session was very valuable so I would ask the Leader to arrange for the Minister to come here so we can discuss all the relevant matters with him.