Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 21 July 2020
713. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Health when recommendations on the expansion of the newborn screening programme will be published; his plans to implement the recommendations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17061/20]
View answerI wish to thank the Deputy for raising this issue. It is something that he and I have discussed before.
The National Screening Advisory Committee (NSAC) was established in 2019 and has held two meetings to date. The Committee’s role is to undertake an independent assessment of the evidence for screening for a particular condition against internationally accepted criteria and make recommendations accordingly.
Professor Niall O’Higgins was appointed as Chair of the NSAC in 2019 and was asked that the Committee prioritise an examination of the approaches for the expansion of the National Newborn Bloodspot Screening Programme ('heelprick test') and work in that regard has been progressed by the Committee.
A meeting of the NSAC took place on 17 July 2020 where the Committee considered (1) the addition of ADA-SCID to the blood spot screening programme and (2) a change in the screening pathway of the Diabetic RetinaScreen programme. I await the outcome of the discussions of the Committee.
Any future potential changes to the National Newborn Bloodspot Screening Programme will be incorporated as part of the Committee's work programme.
Updates in relation to the work of the Committee will be posted on the NSAC website available at https://www.gov.ie/en/campaigns/nsac/
I am strongly committed to identifying any opportunities that exist in this area and to their implementation.
