Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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212. To ask the Minister for Health if he has introduced the interventions recommended by the National Vision Coalition in its Report on the Economic Cost and Burden of Eye Disease and Preventable Blindness in Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25668/15]

Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
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I acknowledge the valuable contribution made by the National Vision Coalition's Report to our understanding of the broad economic impact of the burden of four key eye diseases and preventable blindness. The Report, "Economic Cost and Burden of Eye Diseases and Preventable Blindness in Ireland", which was part of a pan-European study of 16 countries, looks closely at the cost-effectiveness of interventions to prevent eye disease and blindness.

The health service is addressing the prevention of eye disease and blindness across the broad range of health services including acute, primary and community based services.

Health service provision aimed at protecting people's eye health and, where necessary, providing supports to people with visual impairment, is based on the goals and principles of Healthy Ireland, rooted in primary care and integrated with and supported by secondary and specialist services for those who need them. Eye care services are made available by the Health Service Executive (HSE) to children and to medical card holders and their dependants. All pre-school children may avail of the child health examination route in order to be provided with any necessary optometric services. Children of primary school age are usually screened twice during the primary school cycle and are referred for assessment and treatment if such is required. Any refractive errors are treated and spectacles or other appropriate care is provided where necessary. Other children between 12 and 16 years are seen by a HSE eye doctor when there is a medical reason for the eye condition, rather than refractive error. Outpatient services, i.e. non-routine examination and/or treatment is provided for children in respect of defects noticed at child health or primary school examinations.

The HSE's National Clinical Programme on Diabetes, which includes care of children and adolescents with diabetes, was established in May 2010. Diabetic retinopathy screening commenced in March 2013 and offers free, regular screening to children from age 12 to adults. Systematic retinopathy screening on a population basis is both cost and clinically effective in identifying treatable eye disease.

The HSE has a Primary Care Eye Services Review Group, consisting of key stakeholders, in place to examine issues around primary care eye services including population needs and the adequacy of current services. The Group will identify any current inadequacies and make recommendations as to how these should be addressed. It will report later this year.

The HSE has put in place specific measures to address waiting lists more efficiently, in collaboration with acute hospitals, the Special Delivery Unit and the National Treatment Purchase Fund. These include maximising the use of capacity in public hospitals, through measures such as additional outpatient clinics and extending theatre hours, as well as outsourcing activity to private service providers through a public tendering process. Ophthalmology services are included in the waiting lists to be addressed by such measures. These are a key aspect of meeting the Minister for Health's commitment to reduce maximum permissible waiting times to 18 months by the end of June and 15 months by year end.

People with disabilities, including blind and visually-impaired people, can access specialist disability services, which are provided in a variety of community and residential settings. These may be provided directly by the HSE or in partnership with voluntary service providers such as the National Council for the Blind and the Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind.

The Government remains committed to the provision and development of clinically effective and cost effective vision services and supports through prevention, screening and intervention policies and programmes, all of which will contribute to addressing the priority goal of the World Health Organisation's Vision 2020 initiative, namely to eliminate avoidable blindness.