Joe Flaherty (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate the Cathaoirleach letting me in, particularly as we are over time.

I commend the Minister on her appointment. She will do outstanding work. I was delighted to see her appointed. She will bring a lot of energy to the job but, more importantly, as we see today, she brings an important dimension to a challenging office.

It was inspiring to hear so many heartfelt and personal contributions from many colleagues. Sometimes, as public representatives, we can feel powerless when people come to us. In one such situation, I am dealing with a mother and daughter who have Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, which is connected to hypermobility spectrum disorder. It is a degenerative, life-long condition which, unfortunately, is not covered under the long-term illness scheme. As the Minister will know, that scheme has not been reviewed since 1975. It covers 16 conditions. With the stroke of a pen, the Minister could make it an awful lot easier for countless thousands of women across this country if she reviewed the scheme in the context of conditions such as that to which I refer but also the many others to which previous speakers referred. Reviewing the scheme could prove to be innovative, ground-breaking and a seismic step forward for our health service. I hope the Minister will take what I am saying on board. I genuinely hope she can look at this scheme. In 1975, I was a small, fat six-year-old boy. That shows how long ago the scheme was introduced. Hopefully, the Minister can have a look at it and change it. Changing it would have a meaningful impact for many women.