Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 27 July 2021
1775. Deputy David Cullinane asked the Minister for Health the estimated cost of expanding newborn genetic screening services to expand the range of diseases which are screened for in line with the EU average of 20; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35483/21]
View answerI am fully committed to supporting our population health screening programmes which are a valuable part of our health service.
The National Screening Advisory Committee (NSAC) was established in 2019 with the remit to undertake an independent assessment of the evidence for screening for a particular condition against internationally accepted criteria and to advise the Department of Health and the Minister for Health on all new proposals for screening and on revisions to existing programmes. 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 and work in that regard has been progressed by the Committee.
In 2020 the NSAC made a recommendation to me for the addition of ADA-SCID to the National Newborn Bloodspot Screening Programme (NNBSP) and I approved the recommendation. Provision for the addition of ADA-SCID to the NNBSP has been included in the HSE’s 2021 National Service Plan and the HSE are progressing with implementation. The expansion of the National Newborn Bloodspot Screening Programme remains a priority work programme in 2021 for the NSAC.
Ireland has traditionally evaluated the case for commencing a national screening programme against the internationally accepted criteria (collectively known as Wilson Jungner criteria). The evidence bar for commencing a screening programme should and must remain high. This evidence threshold ensures that we can be as confident as we can be that the programme in question is effective, quality assured and operating to safe standards for the population.
Financial cost is but one factor that is considered in the decision-making process. Due to the complex nature of the evaluation process and the criteria against which a decision is made, it would be impossible to accurately quantify the cost of expanding a screening service until a full evidential assessment was completed.
The NSAC are planning to launch the first public ‘annual call’ for proposals for new population-based screening programmes in Ireland, as well as proposed modifications to existing programmes later this year, details of which will be available on Committee’s website.
