Martin Conway (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I acknowledge and salute the fact that today is International Day of the Girl, but I wish to point out that today is also World Sight Day, which raises awareness of issues of blindness and visual impairment. It is a fact that four out of every five people in this country who lose their sight do so unnecessarily. I appeal to people on World Sight Day to have their eyesight checked. Once a person turns 50, he or she should get his or her eyes checked, preferably every year but certainly every two years. There are opticians throughout the country who are exceptionally well qualified, very professional and very dedicated to what they do. They can perform an eye check on someone very quickly and will make a referral if there is an issue. The easiest way to ensure that people retain their eyesight is by getting it checked and dealing quickly with whatever issues might arise. Time is of the essence.

I request of the Leader that we might have a debate with the Minister for Health in this Chamber at some stage in the not too distant future on the subject of sight loss. It is worrying that we have too many people on waiting lists for cataract surgery and other eye related care. We should always strive to reduce and ultimately eliminate any significant waiting lists in this area because the use of their eyes is something that many people take for granted, but those of us who do not have full eyesight would never take it for granted.