Colm Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I also welcome the Minister of State. I raise this matter following a recent presentation by Professor Michael Turner, UCD professor of obstetrics and gynaecology. He explained how the incidence of neural tube defects, NTDs, varies from 0.05 per 1,000 in some parts of the country to six per 1,000 in others and that there are huge regional and population specific variations.

What is of concern to me is recent studies have shown that over the past four to five years there has been an increase in NTDs from 0.92 per 1,000 to 1.17 per 1,000. An analysis of 236 cases over three years found 45% had anencephaly, 49% spina bifida and 6% another medical condition which I cannot pronounce. Of the 94 babies born with spina bifida 90.4% survived the neonatal period. We have an increase in the number of NTDs compared to other countries. A UCD study found that of 564 women booking for antenatal care at the Coombe hospital, only one in four took folic acid for longer than 12 weeks before pregnancy, as is ideal. Women who planned their pregnancy or who were having their first baby were more likely to take pre-pregnancy folic acid.

It is extremely important to take folic acid pre-pregnancy and during pregnancy. Professor Turner highlighted the need for a new media campaign on this matter. He also made the point that with social media it should be possible to target the campaign at specific groups of people, and it does not need to be the usual massive campaign. We could do a very good campaign on this and there is a need to highlight it.

Another issue raised during Professor Turner's presentation was the fortification of food. The point was made that because food is imported from all parts of the world fortification of food may not necessarily work. I spoke to another medical colleague who said the one place it could be used is milk. One company, Avonmore, produces milk with added folic acid, but we need to plan for this. The number of cases over three years was 236, which is quite a high number. It also involves a huge cost and huge trauma for families and is something we need to look at. It is in this context I raise this issue.