Erin McGreehan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Leas-Chathaoirleach, and the Minister of State is very welcome to the Chamber today. I wish to discuss the investment into community rehabilitation teams across the country, but more specifically with regard to my own community health organisation, CHO, 8, which County Louth is part of. As the Minister of State knows, CHO 8 represents Laois, Offaly, Longford, Westmeath, Louth and Meath. It has a population of 592,388. There are no local teams, as far as I am aware, to support patients who are really in need of suitable therapies. The national strategy for neurorehabilitation states that nine teams are required, but according to the Neurological Alliance of Ireland, only two have been delivered. Everyone deserves access, as the Minister of State well knows, to community neurorehabilitation teams. Investing in community neurorehabilitation teams provides function and well-being for patients, and the Neurological Alliance of Ireland has stated that every €1 spent on teams in the health services could potentially save €11.

The Minister of State is well across her brief and she speaks to an awful lot of patients who are in need of neurorehabilitation teams quite regularly. For the record, the neurological conditions are stroke, traumatic brain injury, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's disease. These can have a profound impact on a person's life. However, with the right support and medical intervention, these individuals can have opportunities to recover and have a far better quality of life.

Every neurorehabilitation team should have a specialised branch of medicine that would focus on comprehensive care for individuals with neurological conditions. These teams could consist of neurologists, physiotherapists, occupational and speech therapists and psychologists, among others, who would work together to assess the plan, and implement effective treatments and strategies tailored to the specific need of the patient. A lot of this is down to access, and we quite regularly talk at various meetings about people having access to adequate therapies in their own community. We all know the importance of not having to travel long distances to get therapies and treatments. To get therapies full stop is very important. Of all Ministers, I know that the Minister of State is at the very front of this.

I have met with a few multiple sclerosis patients from County Louth recently who have to travel to Dublin for treatments and physiotherapy because there is no neuro-specific care in their locality. This is obviously tiresome and costs a lot of money. They have to take time out of work or whatever to be able to. There is a burden from that travel, and it often takes the focus off the treatment and the recovery and on to that burden of having to travel. It is added stress.

I look forward to the Minister of State's response, because she knows. I do not have to convince her of the importance of therapies for people who have a neurological condition. There is a proven result when we have proper care and intervention, and we have seen it time and again. For many years, this area has been ignored, but the Minister of State is not one to ignore a challenge, and I look forward to listening to her response.