Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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630. To ask the Minister for Health if funding will be made available for research in smart technology for those with visual impairment, in view of the fact that there are up to 250,000 persons here with some form of visual defect; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11519/15]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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My Department supports research in health through the Health Research Board (HRB). The HRB is a statutory body under the aegis of the Department of Health and is the lead agency in Ireland supporting and funding health research. For 2015 the HRB's funding from my Department will be in the region of €40 million.

I am advised by the HRB that it does not ring-fence funding for any particular type of disease or disorder. It does not exclude any field of health research, once it meets the HRB's criteria of excellence, and it welcomes applications from any disease area including smart technologies to tackle or assist those with sight loss. Since 2010 the HRB has funded research projects to the value of € 3.6m on eye diseases and disorders.

Health research projects in Ireland, including those related to visual impairment, can also take place in many other fora including universities, hospitals, etc. Information on these research projects are not available in my Department.