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Speech by An Taoiseach Mr. Enda Kenny, T.D. at the 16th International Congress on Parkinson’s Disease and other Movement Disorder - National Convention Centre Dublin

You’re very welcome to Dublin.

You’ve come to us in Summer.

The time when we commemorate Leopold Bloom making his Joycean Odyssey across this city.

The time when we’re reaching the summer solstice, the longest day of the year.

I know that a diagnosis of a serious movement disorder can seem like the longest day even the worst day in the life of the man or woman at the other side of that doctor’s desk.

But after diagnosis there is still a life.

There is still hope.

Like many diagnosed, we are proud that Irish researchers are among those leading the way in the race to find a breakthrough in this disease.

We all of us take the fluency the fluidity of our movement for granted.

Every day we tie our laces, button buttons, turn the pages of a book, play the piano, play tennis, play the guitar, open a can, pick up coins off the table, smile, frown, sing or whistle along to the radio. With Parkinson’s and other movement disorders all that can change.

But we can be glad that every day advances are being made in understanding, managing and treating movement disorders with good and better outcomes for people living with these disorders and indeed for their families.

I am enormously encouraged to see so many people here collaborating on Parkinson’s disease, movement disorders, and their management. Whether it’s in the quest for new drugs and treatment or in the sharing of knowledge about how best to apply existing technologies and treatments, conferences such as this provide the best means of pooling and sharing this information across disciplines, across boundaries and across countries.

For the next few days here in Dublin, movement disorders are making the headlines.

People know that scientists from all over the world are in town.

That is good in two ways.

You are bringing awareness of the disease to new heights, new audiences.

Making movement disorders mainstream. Everyone’s interest. Everyone’s business.

In these difficult times when the Irish people are making such heroic sacrifice, it is good for us to see Ireland be such a hub of science and tourism.

Your experience here this week means that we will have thousands of ambassadors who will take Dublin as a conference and holiday destination to thousands of people in their home counties.

As you know these are difficult times for Ireland.

We are not immune to the uncertainty that exists right across the eurozone.

However we are changing the things we can.

15 months ago, when my Government came into office, we made it one of our top priorities to restore Ireland’s international reputation.

We began, on that first day, to rebuild our economy as one that is flexible, competitive, dynamic and robust.

The message went out that Ireland is open for business.

Already, the progress that Ireland has made in repairing our damaged economy is well recognised internationally.

Step by step, we are bringing our public finances under control through our fiscal consolidation programme.

One of the specific areas we have focused much attention on is the area of biotechnology and life sciences.

A sector where Ireland continues to have an excellent record.

We have nine of the top-ten, global pharmaceutical companies in Ireland.

The government’s Action Plan for Jobs sees a step-change in supporting innovation in the sector.

For example, designing and setting up new research centres in the key areas of Pharmaceutical Production, Medical Devices and Connected Health.

We are confident that this focus on innovation, will further enhance Ireland’s reputation as a top location for pharma and biotech firms.

On my St. Patrick’s Day visit to the United States I had the opportunity to meet with the “Wild Geese Network of Irish Scientists”.

It was a great visit.

We discussed with real passion making Ireland a hub for science.

Science and English are now global languages.

Here we combine the best of both.

What we want is for Ireland to have a reputation nationally and internationally as a location where:

- enterprise and academia work well together,

- open innovation models work, and

- companies that compete globally can find that space where

collaboration with one another and with Ireland’s science base makes best sense.

That best sense too applies to Health Reform.

In fact, we in Ireland now have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform Ireland’s healthcare system.

Last year, in the elections, we got a huge public mandate to develop a universal, single-tier health service that guarantees access to medical care on the basis of need not ability to pay.

The Minister for Health, Dr James Reilly, has started as he means to go on.

Management of common chronic diseases, such as Parkinson’s, is now one of the most significant challenges that every health care system faces.

It also requires us to find innovative ways of providing healthcare services in partnership with patients and their families.

This is the critical ingredient - Empowering patients and their families to be active participants and partners in the management of their conditions.

A determined focus on the development of primary care will ensure that the best means of integrating hospital based services, rehabilitation and community based services for patients with movement disorders.

This is entirely consistent with the direction of our major health reform programme. (i.e. community care and money follows the patient)

In relation to Neuro-Rehabilitation, I’m delighted that our lead health

agency, the Health Service Executive, is developing a robust policy that supports the work of the Rehabilitation Medicine Programme. One of the key

deliverables for 2012 will be the development of Regional Managed Clinical Rehabilitation Networks which will improve access to and the quality of, rehabilitation services, for adults with acquired disability, including those with Parkinson’s.

Time and time again it has been demonstrated that patients with access to these services lead more independent lives which equates to a better quality of life.

And within a European wide context, Ireland’s EU Commissioner, Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, has recently launched the Research Strategy of the Joint Programming Initiative for Neurodegenerative Diseases.

The goals of the Strategy are to develop new treatments and preventive strategies, improve health and social care approaches, raise awareness and de-stigmatise neurodegenerative disorders and to alleviate the economic and social burden of these diseases.

I’m sure most of these issues will be discussed by you in detail at this 16th International Congress over the coming days.

Conclusion

I’m intrigued but not surprised by your focus on music and dance as therapies or pathways to discovery in movement-related disorders.

But if set dancing offers help to people living with Parkinson’s I’m sure all of us here are all for it!

I want to thank you for choosing Ireland as your conference location.

I wish you good work, good company, good discovery and a wonderful few days with us in Ireland.