Caít Keane (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I also wish to support the call made by Senator Comiskey in respect of rates. This matter does not just relate to rural areas and I raised it when we debated the Valuation (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill. There are three businesses in Tallaght - one of the first areas in which rateable valuation was introduced - which were rated at the height of the boom and which are not making in revenues what they are paying out in rates. The businesses in question are now not viable. It must be recognised that this matter relates to more than just rural areas.

I wish to bring to the attention of the House new research relating to peanut allergies, which seemingly contradicts all previous research in this area. The Irish Food Allergy Network, which is funded by Our Lady's Children's Hospital in Crumlin and which does great research in respect of allergies in general, issued a fine report last year in which it recommended the putting in place of better diagnostic and management procedures. However, the report in question does not focus on prevention.Researchers at King's College in London have produced a report showing that if children under the age of five years are allowed to eat peanuts, they have a lesser chance of developing an allergy. In other words, to prevent allergy it is better to introduce peanuts to children's diets as soon as possible, ideally in the first, second or third year of life. If the report is to form the basis of our approach - I am assuming it should because King's College is a very reputable institution - new guidelines for parents may well be necessary. What we are doing is simply issuing guidelines on how to manage a peanut allergy once it presents. Colleagues will recall the tragic death of Emma Sloan on O'Connell Street in December 2013 after she was unable to access an injection in a chemist's shop because she did not have a prescription. We do not have statistics to show how many people have died in this country as a consequence of an allergic reaction, but we do know that some 16,000 children have a peanut allergy. I am, therefore, calling for a debate on this serious issue.