Pat Casey (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister to the Chamber and thank Senators Norris, Boyhan and Craughwell for highlighting this campaign again, as that is required to keep it to the fore and in our minds. It is an incredible piece of legislation that is required and I welcome it.

Coming from Wicklow, I met Les and his family on a number of occasions. The Senator has set out their position. As Les says, this is not for him, as his two sons have been diagnosed with a terminal disease. His campaign is not for him but for all the other families that will be affected by the issue and so they do not have to endure the pain and suffering that he and his extended family have experienced.

I acknowledge the work done by Les, as he brought this matter from nowhere to somewhere that it is very relevant. Without Les, the NSAC would not be in place. He has campaigned hard to have it put there. He has campaigned hard to have the screening expanded and has travelled to Italy, where one of his sons has been treated with some good results. Regrettably, all this could have been avoided if the testing had been expanded before. That is the fundamental point.

As Les has said, he is seeking screening for conditions where treatment is available. He is not looking for everything. He is looking for the prick test to be done on children where treatment is available. I know the Minister has met Les a number of times well before he took office.

I have been in the Houses of the Oireachtas for four years and sometimes I wonder why the Government does not look to the benefits of forward investment. This will save the State money in the long term. In this case we are talking about children's lives but across all sectors we are not investing enough in forward thinking that could end up saving the State money. I do not buy the argument that this is a cost on the State. There would be an eventual saving to the State if we could diagnose these illnesses early.

There is matter of putting this on a statutory footing and I have no qualms about that either way.When I was a member of the Joint Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government, it debated whether the right to housing should be enshrined in the Constitution. I honestly do not think it would make any difference. If the will and desire are there to deliver something, it will be achieved no matter whether it is in the Constitution or on a statutory footing. The Minister is committed to delivering on this issue and we will see results in that regard. It is to be hoped that within a year we will see the results the Minister is seeking. The national screening advisory committee needs to be given a bit more time. It has only just been established. It has gone through a Covid process whereby its last meeting was held using Microsoft Teams. Even in those circumstances, it has now supported an additional test that will be carried out on children.

I am fully supportive of this campaign and I am delighted that Senator Norris has brought the Bill forward. We need to keep this issue at the forefront of everybody's mind and we need to deliver on it. As Senators have stated, if we can deliver this, we can save a child every week of every year. At the end of the day, that is what is required. Nothing matters more than saving a child's life every week.