Vol. 496 No. 7
27 Mr. J. O'Keeffe asked the Minister for Health and Children if his attention has been drawn to the outstanding success of the Hyperbaric Oxygen Centre in Bandon, County Cork; if his examination of this form of treatment has been completed; and, if not, when he will support the operation and development of this treatment. [23787/98]
I am aware of the project referred to by the Deputy which is being promoted by the Bandon Hyperbaric Trust. The position is that the effectiveness of and national need for this form of treatment is still under consideration by my Department. I should point out that information currently available to me indicates that, while the use of such treatment has benefits in relation to some conditions, such as decompression sickness, its use in treating other conditions such as multiple sclerosis is not proven.
In the event of a decision in favour of publicly funding a national hyperbaric oxygen centre, the optimum location for such a facility would be decided taking account of such factors as the availability of existing expertise and experience in the field.
