In advance of the European elections on June 7th, Epilepsy Ireland have contacted leading candidates within Ireland’s three constituencies of Midlands North-West, Ireland South and Dublin regarding the implementation of the Intersectoral Global Action Plan on Epilepsy (IGAP) and other Neurological conditions.
The IGAP is a 10-year roadmap to effectively address existing gaps in the diagnosis, treatment, care and public health response to neurological conditions and improve the lives of people with epilepsy and other neurological conditions worldwide.
Unfortunately, despite being approved in 2022, there has been little national action in implementing or planning to implement the vision of IGAP in Ireland – even though there are very clear targets that are set out in the plan.
Given the lack of action on this at national level, we believe it is vitally important that there is a European-led intervention which places a duty on member states to ensure the targets set out by IGAP are met. This is why we have contacted candidates for the European elections, seeking a commitment that they will prioritise the implementation of the IGAP, should they be elected.
You can read more about the IGAP by visiting the ‘Advocacy’ section of our website. Should you have an opportunity to raise this matter with EU election candidates within your constituency, we would encourage you to do so. We have included an amended version of our correspondence to candidates that is available for download at the end of this article - should you wish to contact your chosen candidates directly.
Thank you in advance for your support and we look forward to receiving positive responses from candidates over the coming days.