Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Finian McGrath. I refer to the issue of FreeStyle Libre. Thousands of adults with type 1 diabetes will have to wait until next year to find out whether the HSE is prepared to lift restrictions on them accessing the new blood sugar monitoring technology known as FreeStyle Libre. This device has been credited with greatly improving the quality of life of people with the disease since it was approved by the HSE in April 2018, but only for those aged from four to 21 years.I am advocating today on behalf of a woman who is outside of that age bracket.

The HSE promised at the time to review the situation after 12 months once it was in a position to assess the cost of making the device available to children and young adults. In August, according to a spokesperson, the HSE had 12 months of data collated for review within the coming months. This would allow for the experience of patients and the "societal aspects of benefit" to be reviewed. Members may be aware that FreeStyle Libre, made by Abbott, is a small sensor worn on the skin with readings taken by scanning a hand-held device over the sensor. Unlike the finger prick test, there is no need to draw blood and continuous information about glucose levels can be obtained.

Diabetes Ireland has described the upper age limit on availability as "unfortunate" as it means that many adults cannot access the technology despite the support of their medical team. The HSE stated that it was committed to reviewing who can access this technology within a year but 18 months later, there is still no review. The device has been made available to some adults with type 1 diabetes based on exceptional need. However, diabetes specialist Dr. Ronan Canavan has said that he has made many applications over the past year with limited success. One such application on behalf of a 22 year old patient was refused initially and again on appeal. As I said, I am making representations on behalf of an adult woman. She needs this technology but is exasperated by the delay.

Diabetes Ireland estimates that around 20,000 people have type 1 diabetes, including almost 3,000 children under 16. What is the HSE doing to ensure that adults who have this condition can access this much-needed technology?