Silent epidemic of FASD 'coming down the road at us fast and furiously'

The Government is being urged to recognise foetal alcohol spectrum disorder as a disability by a support group which warns it is a silent epidemic “coming down the road at us fast and furiously”.

In recent answers to parliamentary questions about the disorder, Minister of State with responsibility for disabilities, Hildegarde Naughton, said that FASD is not deemed a disability in Ireland and said responsibility for it falls under the Department of Health’s (DOH) Health and Wellbeing unit.

She added: “As a result, the services needed to address issues around FASD are primarily found within the remit of DOH (Department of Health). The DOH currently have the remit over the Expert Advisory Group on FASD directly relevant to the question posed by the Deputy, therefore this is a matter for the office of the Minister for Health.” However, in separate responses, Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll McNeill said that responsibility for the area lies with the Department of Disabilities Children and Youth Affairs.

According to figures published by the World Health Organisation in 2017, it is estimated that approximately 600 babies are born each year in Ireland with the syndrome. Ireland ranked third out of 187 countries for prevalence of FASD, behind South Africa and Croatia.

However, the HSE said in a briefing document in 2022 that the prevalence of FASD in Ireland is estimated at between 2.8% and 7.4% of the population. It added that the best available evidence estimates that about 600 Irish babies are born each year with Foetal Alcohol Syndrome, “with a further 9-10 times this number of babies born annually in Ireland who have other Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders”.

It is also estimated that up to 380,000 people with FASD are currently living in Ireland.

Among the indicators of FASD are ADHD, low body weight, poor co-ordination, poor memory, attention difficulties, difficulties in school (particularly around maths), and learning disabilities.

Chief executive of FASD Ireland, Tristan Casson-Rennie, is calling on the government to take action on designating FASD as a disability.

Describing it as Ireland’s silent epidemic, Mr Casson-Rennie said: “It is coming down the road at us fast and furiously and we need to get supports in place to support everybody who lives with the condition.” He said that previous Minister for Disabilities, Anne Rabbitte, had been supportive but said this has not continued into the current government.

Mr Casson-Rennie said that while people with FASD are getting help from health and disability services for numerous reasons but not specifically for FASD.

He said: “For example, people will be getting diagnosed with a co-morbid condition of ADHD and getting support for ADHD but nobody is looking at what the primary cause is.” He continued: “We need to look at how we get all the departments to recognise FASD. This is not a single department’s responsibility. This is the responsibility of welfare, health, public health, disability, youth, and justice. All those departments need to recognise FASD.” “This government was elected on a ticket of support for people living with disabilities and this message that is coming out from both Hildegarde Naughton and Jennifer Carroll McNeill is that they are going to pick and choose which disabilities they will accept as a disability.” He said that the reply by Minister Naughton that Ireland does not recognise FASD as a disability is the first time that has been put on record by the government.

He described it “as shameful that Ireland does not recognise FASD when there is so much progressive work going on around the world.” He said up to 3,000 calls have been received to the FASD national helpline in the two years since it was set up in April 2023.

Last year, Dr Mary O’Mahony, HSE Cork & Kerry, told the Irish Medical Organisation’s annual general meeting that evidence indicates that during 2021 some 526 babies were born in Ireland who were clearly affected by FASD.

You can read the original article by Ann Murphy on the Irish Examiner website.