Nessa Cosgrove (Labour)

I have just spotted Keith Henry in the Visitors Gallery. There might be a Ballymote bunch here.

Most people probably know that Lyme disease is a bacterial infection that is spread through the bite of an infected tick. This is a potentially serious illness, but it can be prevented through a number of precautions. When Lyme disease is contracted, it can be treated with antibiotics if it is diagnosed in time. If it is not diagnosed or not treated early enough, Lyme disease can have devastating consequences for those who contract it. Early symptoms include a bullseye-type rash around the site of the bite. It is not unusually sore or itchy, but it can increase in size. Other symptoms include flu-like symptoms, headaches, sore throats and stiffness. These can become more severe if symptoms persist. Due to the similarity of these symptoms with other illnesses, Lyme disease is not always easy to diagnose and is often referred to as the great imitator. If it is left unrecognised and untreated, Lyme disease can cause harrowing severe illness and complications, including persistent fatigue, chronic pain, depression and cardiac and neurological symptoms. Fiona Quilter is a woman from Sligo whose health has been ruined, and that is not an understatement, by chronic Lyme disease. She has taken the step of going public along with many of her fellow sufferers of Lyme disease. A very informative cross-party Oireachtas group has been set up. She has highlighted the possible consequences of Lyme disease and the failure of doctors to recognise and treat it. Fiona's condition has been diagnosed as fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, thyroid disease and functional neurological disorder. Delays in recognition and diagnosis allow the disease to get a firmer grip on a sufferer's system and mean the single two-week course of antibiotics available under the HSE becomes less likely to work. This leads to further complications and to people having to seek treatment abroad in Germany. Fiona has had to retire from work. She has had to sell her house to fund her treatment. She has estimated that to date she has spent approximately €100,000 on treatment outside that available from the HSE.

Fiona and some of the other sufferers would say that not only is the tragedy of her situation that there are long-term effects, but also that it could have been prevented had there been more awareness among doctors and the general public of Lyme disease. I am aware that some county councils, including Sligo County Council, have provided signage about the dangers of Lyme disease and the possibility that people could be infected in certain areas. I am aware that the resourcing of local authorities to have these signs put up can be an issue. I would love to ensure that all local authorities would be resourced to put up signage providing reliable and easy to understand information about the causes, signs and symptoms of Lyme disease and other tick-borne infections. Sligo County Council has the signs up and I have seen them myself. Could there be standardised signage in woodland areas, public parks and on private land where people go walking? Can it be ensured that there will be regulation of signs and that the local authorities will be resourced to put them up? If the HSE is willing to be involved in the signage, can the local authorities be resourced so that there are people available to put up the signs?