Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I second Senator Mark Daly's amendment to the Order of Business. It is crucial that the Minister should come to the House to discuss the relevant matter.

I acknowledge the many Lyme disease patients from across Ireland who gathered outside Leinster House with their families and friends to highlight the plight of Irish sufferers of Lyme and tick-borne co-infections. We should do more to raise awareness of this awful disease. One of those who gathered outside is a brave woman from Carlow called Nicola Slattery. She was here with mother, Margaret. She said that if she could prevent one more person from having to go through the ordeal she had undergone, it would be worth it. Prevention is about awareness. There is not enough awareness about this disease, its symptoms and the devastation it brings to sufferers and their families. The group who met in Dublin joined millions across the world to raise awareness on this debilitating illness.

Lyme disease is a bacterial disease transmitted predominantly by means of a bite from an infected tick. In Ireland, inaccurate testing makes it impossible to know the real number of cases. Many must travel abroad for diagnosis and treatment. The HSE recently estimated that there are over 200 cases in Ireland annually but they do not know because Lyme disease tick-borne co-infections can often be misdiagnosed as myalgic encephalomyelitis, ME, chronic fatigue syndrome, multiple sclerosis, MS, lupus, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, early-onset dementia, depression or arthritis. Early diagnosis and treatment are vital for cure. We must all be educated about ticks and the infections, including sepsis, they can pass on. This week, the HSE issued an advisory on the disease which we would be wise to highlight. That is why I am raising this matter. The message we need to communicate is that people must be aware of and should not dismiss any signs of illness, that they should cover up when outdoors, especially near tick bushes, and they should check for insects on clothing or for bites. If a tick is removed in the first few hours, the risk of infection is very low. We all need to play our part and raise awareness. We should encourage better treatment and diagnosis. Awareness and education must be part of this programme. It is about the awareness which we do not have.