Robert Dowds (Dublin Mid West, Labour)
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487. To ask the Minister for Health the reason Crohn's disease is not on the long-term illness scheme; the estimated number of persons who suffer from this condition; the projected change in this figure in the next ten years; his plans to add this disease to the list of conditions covered by the long-term illness scheme. [34046/15]

Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
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The Long Term Illness (LTI) Scheme was established under Section 59(3) of the Health Act, 1970 (as amended). Regulations were made in 1971, 1973, and 1975 specifying the conditions covered by the LTI Scheme, which are as follows: Acute Leukaemia; Intellectual Disability; Cerebral Palsy; Mental Illness (in a person under 16); Cystic Fibrosis; Multiple Sclerosis; Diabetes Insipidus; Muscular Dystrophies; Diabetes Mellitus; Parkinsonism; Epilepsy; Phenylketonuria; Haemophilia; Spina Bifida; Hydrocephalus; and conditions arising from the use of Thalidomide. There are no plans to extend the list of conditions covered by the LTI Scheme.

There is no official database which provides accurate figures on numbers suffering from Crohn's disease in Ireland; therefore, it is not possible to provide projections for the next ten years.