Erin McGreehan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

After that contribution, I may as well throw away my speech and just thank the Minister. It is great to have a Minister come into the House who is so open to improving the lives of children and all citizens of our nation. All Senators agree that the screening of newborns is among the most important screening programmes. I know people who, because they were born in Newry, were screened for cystic fibrosis. They were born before 2011. Their quality of life was improved because they got the heel prick test. It was normal for that test to be carried out in the North, but it was not routinely carried out in the South until 2011. Children born before 2011 were not screened for cystic fibrosis, but those born since then have been screened. That has an impact on their life expectancy and their quality of life.

I welcome the Minister's commitment to the expansion of the screening programme. I welcome the fact that he will update the House in six months' time. I ask that he get his officials to look at the situation in Italy and the potential savings the HSE could make by implementing a testing model similar to that in operation there. As he knows, it is not just about finances or a cost-benefit analysis of resources being assigned to various issues; it is about the lives of babies. It is about their life expectancy and quality of life. It is about looking after families and babies. They deserve the best start we can give them. I very much welcome that he has prioritised the review for the national newborn blood spot screening programme and that he stated it will be expanded in line with international best practice. I ask him to update the House with regard to the basis or grounds for the board deciding to recommend a particular additional condition or screening test over another. There are now eight such tests. What is the cost-benefit analysis or reasoning behind those decisions?

I refer to the prioritisation of development checks for children. They are just as important as screening.We have development checks at six months, 18 months and three years, and they involve hearing, clickety hips and such important aspects of development. All my children were lucky enough to undergo those checks at timely intervals, when things were checked and double-checked. Any problems would have been picked up-----