Magdalene Rogers

Yes, David.

So this is clearly a service that's under pressure.

You know, in a way, this is a good sign because it means that I suppose symptoms are being picked up and there's more awareness of neurology.

But on the other hand, this means that waiting times for a first appointment and also between appointments for people diagnosed with neurological condition are getting longer.

So there are nearly 400 types of neurological condition, anything from Parkinson's disease, epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, functional neurological disorder, the condition that Caris lives with, acquired brain injury, such a wide list.

And if you think about it for a second, every one of us knows someone who's living with one of these conditions, one or more of these conditions.

Well, one in six people, it's estimated that one in six people in Ireland has a neurological condition, over 860,000 people.

So there is more awareness, but the challenge is getting the early diagnosis because early diagnosis, as you can imagine, is critical.

So that's a very significant factor, David.

We did a report, we published a couple of months ago, a report supported by Sanofi.

And that showed that, for example, in model three hospitals, which are significant regional hospitals, a number of them were either without a neurology service or a completely inadequate neurology service to meet the needs.

So in our pre-budget submission, which we're launching today, we're focusing in on that issue of patients.

equitable access to neurology service and as I say the lack of or the inadequacy of neurology services in regional hospitals and I suppose Caris experience is a real indication of that need for neurological expertise that they are the only people in the hospital that know and are looking at these conditions and understand what's going on.

So really, David, you know, you can hear from Caris and you've heard from Professor Hartman as well, that this really is a service, as I say, under pressure.

This service needs ongoing investment.

So the 2.2 million would do two things.

One, it's to address that disparity in regional services, regional neurology services, the areas of the country that don't have access to neurology.

For individuals like Caris, it's to put those specialist pathways in place, those specialist wraparound multidisciplinary services online.

And also a service that we're looking for, again, with that multidisciplinary team, so-called a community neuro rehabilitation team.

And again, that's likely a good news story in that those teams have been established in every area of the country.