Eileen Lynch (Fine Gael)

I would like to be associated with the vote of sympathy on the passing of former Councillor Jim Finucane. He was a true party man and gave his life to politics in Kerry. He will be sorely missed. I would like to pass on a vote of congratulations to my local GAA club, Aghabullogue, which won the premier intermediate football county final last Saturday. I wish the team the best of luck with the Munster final against Thurles next weekend in the all-Ireland intermediate football. It is a massive achievement for the club. It is the first time since 1910 that it will now be promoted to a senior grade. We also have a very proud history in Aghabullogue in that the club was founded in 1884 and was the first club to win an all-Ireland for hurling in 1890. I congratulate the lads and wish them the very best of luck for next weekend.

I want to raise the urgent need to reform the long-term illness scheme to include inflammatory bowel disease, IBD, Crohn's disease and colitis, which affect over 40,000 people in Ireland and are medically recognised as lifelong incurable autoimmune diseases. While the Minister for Health has cited section 59(3) of the Health Act 1970 to justify the scheme's exclusions, the section does not list specific conditions. It grants the Minister discretion to proscribe any long-term condition. The current list of 16 illnesses was created administratively in 1970 and has not been reviewed in over 50 years. I do not believe this is a legislative issue; it is a political issue. Crohn's and Colitis Ireland's recent report revealed that people with IBD face an average of €3,252 in annual costs, with 60% facing financial hardship, 47% avoiding care due to cost and 26% delaying taking medication in order to make their supply last longer. This is unacceptable for a condition that the State refuses to acknowledge through adequate supports. I urge the Minister to come to the House to discuss the issue and meet with Crohn's and Colitis Ireland to begin a formal review of the long-term illness scheme.