Shane Ross (Independent)
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In the spirit of goodwill being expressed by all parties in the House, I do not doubt that the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government will accede to my request in a fit of Easter generosity.

I wish to raise the issue of the need for the Department of Health and Children to secure core funding for the Irish Osteoporosis Society. It is obviously a delicate matter when one addresses the relationship between the HSE and voluntary societies such as the Irish Osteoporosis Society. However, there is a middle way whereby both the Irish Osteoporosis Society and sufferers from osteoporosis can benefit if the HSE and the Department take a rational view of their activities. If core funding were given to the Irish Osteoporosis Society on an annual basis, it would not only be more efficient for the HSE, it would be in the interests of patients and would also save a certain amount of money for the Exchequer.

Osteoporosis is a somewhat under-appreciated disease in Ireland and its extent is not properly recognised. The statistics which have come to my attention, thanks to the information provided by a very dear constituent, are staggering in the detail they give about the extent to which osteoporosis is prevalent in this country. As everybody knows, the real danger of osteoporosis — its lethal nature — is that it is not immediately detectable and many people suffer from it but do not discover they have it until they break bones. Prevention would certainly benefit patients — obviously, as they would not be invalided — but it also might benefit the Exchequer.

One in three persons over the age of 50 suffers from osteoporosis, which is a pretty staggering figure. Some 20% of those who get hip fractures from osteoporosis die within one year and 50% are demobilised. That is the human element. If hip replacements are necessary and are given to patients, the cost is €26,000 per hip replacement, which is a huge cost to the State. We are in a win-win situation if we can give core funding to the Irish Osteoporosis Society because not only would many people perhaps have their lives saved but much damage and many injuries could be prevented. This is why it is so important that it should be considered as a vital part of improving the health service.

Osteoporosis affects one in five men and one in three women, and one in two people over the age of 65. It also affects children, which is not so widely appreciated. It is a silent disease. The Irish Osteoporosis Society is the only real point of information for the public about the disease. It provides a fantastic service in an almost impossible situation. The society was given €250,000 in 2007 by the HSE but this was not necessarily on an annual basis and it is now living in a kind of limbo, not knowing what it will get this year or next year. As a result, it has one office with a staff of just two in Pearse Street, which is in the Minister's constituency so he will be familiar with it. One member of staff is working at least a 70-hour week to try to combat this disease.

It seems logical, sensible and humane that this service should be properly extended and that at least there should be some permanent and regular form of funding. How in the name of God can an organisation like the Irish Osteoporosis Society manage to recruit efficient, dedicated people to its flag if it does not know whether it will be in existence in a year's time? Very few people would take jobs on that basis. It is important for the Minister to resolve that uncertainty by promising regular core funding for the society.

This is an opportunity for the Government to save money. It has been slow to respond to the demands of this great organisation. Only EU regulations and EU pressure, not local pressure, persuaded the Government to give this funding in 2007. It is an opportunity for the Government to reconsider its attitude and to invest in an organisation that can reduce hospital costs. If more funds are made available there would be fewer journeys to accident and emergency units with breaks and fractures and this would free up hospital beds. This is an extensive problem as osteoporosis affects so many people. In turn, this would free up money which the HSE could distribute in other areas.

We have seen the HSE making ham-fisted efforts at saving money, especially in the dispute with pharmacies and in other areas. Here is an opportunity for the HSE to save money and to do so in the long term while also improving the health of the nation. I urge the Minister not just to consider this but to give a commitment that funding will be available to the Irish Osteoporosis Society to continue and expand its work to prevent this disease and to save the State money.

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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I thank Senator Ross for raising this issue as it gives me the opportunity to reaffirm the Government's commitment to services for older people and to outline the context in regard to the Irish Osteoporosis Society.

Osteoporosis can affect men, women and children of all ages. As many cases of osteoporosis remain undetected until a fracture is sustained, it is difficult to give the exact incidence and prevalence rates for the disease in Ireland. However, as indicated by Senator Ross, osteoporosis is currently estimated to affect one in three women and one in five men over 50 years of age. Furthermore, loss of bone density, symptomatic of the potential to develop osteoporosis occurs with advancing age.

In addition, rates of fracture increase markedly with age thus giving significant rise to morbidity and mortality. The Department of Health and Children has supported the National Council on Ageing and Older People and the Health Service Executive in the establishment of a steering committee to oversee the development of a strategy to prevent falls and fractures in the ageing population. This committee is chaired by the HSE and it is understood that a sub-group has been established to examine the area of osteoporosis.

The IOS was established in 1996 with the overall aims of reducing the incidence of osteoporosis and promoting bone health. It provides information to the public and health professionals on all aspects of the disease and offers support to people with osteoporosis and those at risk from the disease.

The former Northern Area Health Board, and subsequently the HSE, met with the IOS in recent years to agree funding for various initiatives undertaken by the society. This resulted in grant aid of €100,000 in both 2004 and 2005, and €128,000 in 2006. A service level agreement was reached between the society and the HSE for 2007, which included the provision of €250,000 once-off funding towards the following objectives: to develop an osteoporosis and bone health lo-call telephone help line and information database; and to launch a new website to supportearlier detection and prevention of osteoporosis in the wider community through educating and informing health care professionals, co-ordinating a range of awareness campaigns at national and local level and availing of opportunities to promote osteoporosis in other generic health materials.

In the wider context, the development of services for older people continues to be a priority for the Government. This is reflected, for example, in the funding committed to the sector in budgets 2006 and 2007 where over €400 million was provided for much needed initiatives across a range of services nationally. The 2008 budget provided an additional €22 million for a range of community service developments. This includes €2 million for increased supports to voluntary groups working in partnership with the HSE.

The Health Act 2004 provides the HSE with responsibility for the management and delivery of health and personal social services. As a statutory body, the provision of these services is a matter for the HSE, including the delivery of services by agreement with voluntary and community organisations such as the Irish Osteoporosis Society. Funding for health services has been provided as part of the executive's overall Vote for health and personal social services this year. The allocation of resources is a matter for the executive in accordance with the overall priorities for particular services, as set out in its service plan.

I am satisfied that the HSE recognises the valuable work undertaken by the Irish Osteoporosis Society and makes every effort to assist it in line with resources available. This is reflected in a practical way in the funding given to the IOS in recent years. The question of any revised funding arrangements is a matter, in the first instance, for the executive in the light of its overall competing demands and through any new agreement with the society on future service provision.

Shane Ross (Independent)
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I realise that this is not the Minister's portfolio so a detailed question would be inappropriate and unfair. However, the Minister's reply was not encouraging and when he says there is a Department, a council, a steering committee, the HSE and a sub-group, all in a few sentences, then we are not going very far. It is a giveaway that this issue will be submerged in bureaucracy. That is a little bit depressing for those who are suffering from osteoporosis and for the Irish Osteoporosis Society.

Even though the society operates in the Minister's constituency, I ask him to take the message to the Minister for Health and Children that there is a serious need for consistent funding for the Irish Osteoporosis Society and not just once-off funding. Can he assure me that he will do that?

John Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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I will do that. The Senator is right to point out that I am not the Minister with direct responsibility for this issue. This is the second day in a row I am taking the Adjournment debates in the House. That is not a satisfactory situation for Senators, but I will pass on the message to the Minister for Health and Children. I also will impress upon my colleagues the need to be in the Chamber to answer questions.

Senators have a slight advantage over Deputies as they can ask supplementary questions on the Adjournment, which is a very good idea and which could be advanced in the other House.