Fiona O'Loughlin (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Today is World Osteoporosis Day. We must encourage people, particularly women, to make bone health a priority. A recent survey carried out by GPs found that 92% of those who suffer from osteoporosis were surprised with their diagnosis, and that the diagnosis came only after a fracture. Therefore, it is important that people, particularly women over 65, take the opportunity to have a DEXA scan. Early diagnosis is important. I suffer from osteoporosis. I discovered it when I was 30 after a car accident. I was not particularly surprised because my mother and grandmother also had osteoporosis. It can be dealt with through diet and exercise, and, if needed, medication. There is a good Irish website that provides this information. We should send that message out today.

I was at a three-and-a-half-hour meeting last night with farmers from Kildare and west Wicklow in the mart in Kilcullen. It was part of a consultation process that the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy McConalogue, has engaged in around the country. Such consultation is really good. It is happening in 26 places. I was concerned, however, about much of the information I gained. Most of it was not new to me because I have ongoing interaction with farmers in Kildare, just as many Members have such interaction with farmers in their own constituencies. The Common Agricultural Policy, CAP, that is coming down the line seems to be overly bureaucratic. We need the schemes to be simplified. Convergence is a particularly difficult issue for our farmers, and we need to engage more with the Minister on this.

There is a Bloomberg News article in this morning's Irish Independentthat claims curbs on fertiliser exports are to worsen the global price shock. It is quite scary to read that considering the current scarcity and price of food. We need to have a debate in this House on where we are going with the CAP. We absolutely need simplification. We need to be concerned about the eco schemes, whereby 25% of what farmers can get under the CAP will be tied in with ecological measures. My concern is that schemes coming down the line will not be accessible to farmers.

The final point I want to raise relates to the debate on dyslexia we had last week. It was an excellent debate. We all spoke about how difficult it is for young people with dyslexia and how important it is to have early intervention and diagnosis. Several people contacted me after the debate. One was a parent whose daughter has been diagnosed with dyslexia. The daughter is in fifth class and will be going into sixth next year. The school paid for an assessment and then there was a private assessment. Now the family is told the girl must go to a neurological paediatrician to get the adaptive technology. This is absolutely ridiculous. A child going into sixth class needs to be prepared for secondary school, yet there are obstacles in the form of costs and delays in getting the required assessment. If we really want to make a difference, we must make sure that we cut out some of the bureaucracy.