Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I apologise to the Acting Chair, as I did not say at the start that I was taking the Commencement matter on behalf of the Minister for Health. Likewise, the previous Commencement matter was taken on behalf of the Minister for Education.

To conclude, the Minister for Health is aware of the needs of the diabetes community and the challenges faced by those living with the condition. Type 1 diabetes in childhood is a complex condition and if not well managed, can lead to further complications for these patients. In recent years, there has been an increased prevalence of childhood diabetes. This, in turn, has led to increased demand on paediatric diabetic services. Budget 2023 provided funding for the commencement of a national paediatric audit of type 1 diabetes. This audit will highlight areas of good practice, identify service deficits and regional disparities and promote data-driven resource allocation.

Unfortunately, the exact prevalence of diabetes in Ireland is not known. The establishment of a national diabetes registry is currently in the early stages of a multi-year project. A national registry will provide much needed data to understand the prevalence of diabetes in Ireland and to improve planning for services for people with diabetes into the future. Officials in the Department of Health and the HSE are currently engaged in working towards future development of related services.

It is important to highlight this issue. It is a challenging area and it is important that we put in place the infrastructure at a very early stage and especially that it is well managed for all age groups but for young people in particular. It is important that we put the funding into it.