Eugene Murphy (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I rise to discuss Lyme disease. I give my full support to the people who have spent a number of hours outside the gates of Leinster House today.

Lyme disease is caused by a bacterial infection carried by a tick, as we all know, and has quickly become one of the most common diseases in Europe. It is beyond time that Ireland recognises the dangers of that disease. When we were young and growing up, if one's mother or father saw one getting a tick, there was panic and pandemonium to get this out of one's system and not pick up such. We have an attitude now that this does not matter but it is becoming a massive problem. If we do not deal with it now, in years to come we will regret that we did not move in time.

I know people in my area, including one lady who is so sick she could not come here. That young lady has asked me to come and make the case. That is why I went outside the gates like many others today. When one engages with those people, one sees all the symptoms like muscle pains and dizziness. Sleep disturbance, depression, panic attacks and so many things are linked to Lyme disease. We should take it seriously. One can know from talking to people at the gate how badly they have been affected by it. I fully endorse the calls for a debate. That is the way to go. Let us have a good debate about it and see if we can raise this higher on the agenda because we need to do that.

On the national maternity hospital, I have listened to Professor Higgins and Dr. Rhona O'Mahony today. People are saying to me today: "For God's sake, will we move on on this?" I accept there are concerns but if one leases a piece of land for 298 years in a legal agreement, then one owns it for that period. Most people say they are happy with what is there and we should move on with the project. I hope we do.