Caít Keane (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Aontaím leis an Seanadóir Labhrás Ó Murchú as ucht an méid atá ráite aige mar gheall ar an Straitéis 20 Bliain don Ghaeilge. Ba cheart dúinn ar fad, ar ghach taobh den Teach, ár ndícheall a dhéanamh chun an teanga agus ár cultúr agus na moltaí atá sa straitéis a chur i bhfeidhm. Aontaím leis an méid atá ráite faoin gCoimisinéir Teanga, Seán Ó Cuirreáin, freisin.

I welcome the launch of the Child and Family Agency. As a previous speaker said, it is a very important day for the country and I compliment the Minister, Deputy Fitzgerald, and the Taoiseach for putting children first and ensuring that the agency gets the funding and the staff it needs to do the job it is charged with doing.

I raise the issue of anaphylactic shock and peanut allergy in particular. Over Christmas we heard about a young girl who died on O'Connell Street because she could not get an EpiPen. She had been in a restaurant where she ate food containing peanut, to which she had a reaction. She came out onto the street and went into a chemist shop but could not get treatment. That should not happen. Many people suffer from allergies and we must do something about that. I call for a debate on the issue in the House and I recommend that there be an EpiPen and treatment available in every restaurant, where one person would be charged with that responsibility. That should be available in every surgery, school and other place frequented by children. I want to sympathise with the family who lost their young girl.

What brought this issue to mind was new research reported in The Lancet on work being done to raise tolerance to peanut allergy. However, education, awareness and the provision of EpiPens, which can only be got on prescription, is important also and we must examine that. Will the Leader ask the Minister to come into the House to discuss this? When we see that a child can die on the street in a few minutes, the urgency of this matter can be appreciated. It should not have happened.