Healthcare Policy
Seanad Éireann — 2026-03-25
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Teresa Costello (FF), Agricultural Panel

I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House. I want to highlight an issue that was brought to my attention at a recent meeting of the health committee. In Ireland, over 160,000 people are affected by food allergies. By my own admission, until I sat in that meeting I never thought about the impact that a food allergy could have on people, how serious it can be and the difficulties they face. It is a serious public health concern. Allergies affect up to 6% of children and 1% to 2% of adults. They are chronic immune-mediated conditions, often linked with asthma and eczema. They are still often misunderstood and underestimated. For those living with food allergies, the risk of anaphylaxis is constant. For people who do not know, that is a rapid life-threatening reaction that requires immediate treatment with adrenaline. Families are very fearful of it.
Currently, there is no national policy framework or model of care for food allergies in Ireland. Patients can wait for up to a year to see a specialist and for two to three years for an oral food challenge. Access to allergy specialists is limited and care pathways are inconsistent. The delays are very harmful because without early intervention, children are more likely to develop additional allergies.
The impact goes far beyond healthcare. Parents often struggle to access childcare, with providers unwilling or unable to manage allergy risks. Many are forced to reduce working hours or to leave employment entirely. Children can be excluded from everyday activities, such as school trips or birthday parties, which leads to social isolation.
Some families are even travelling abroad to access treatment in places such as the UK, France and the United States. That is why I have raised this Commencement matter. Oral immunotherapy is a treatment that is already transforming allergy care internationally. It involves the gradual introduction of an allergen under medical supervision, with the aim of building tolerance. As I mentioned, people are travelling abroad. However, this is not covered by the treatment abroad scheme or the cross-border directive. It is not an experimental treatment. It is evidence-based and recommended by European clinical guidelines. It is widely used around the world. It can reduce the risk of severe reactions by up to 80% and it shifts care from passive avoidance to active treatment, giving patients protection rather than precaution. The benefits are life-changing. Children gain independence. Families gain confidence. Everyday activities, such as eating out or travelling, become a possibility again.
In Ireland, we have already seen its potential. A pilot programme at Cork University Hospital focused on young children with peanut and tree-nut allergies. It has shown that 91% of participants can tolerate small amounts of the allergen. However, access to this treatment is limited and it is not broadly funded by the HSE. There is no national roll-out plan.
I spoke to family members of people with allergies, some of whom talked about their experiences of travelling abroad, which was not something they really wanted to do. They said they would like the treatment to be available in Ireland. They are paying to go abroad. It is not covered by the schemes I mentioned. Even being on a plane, they are exposed to more allergens. We need a national model of care for food allergies. We need investment in specialist services and a clear, funded plan to expand access to oral immunotherapy across the country.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-03-25/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:46+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-03-25