The Vision Impaired Service Providers Alliance (VISPA) has called on Government to immediately implement a vision strategy for Ireland. Current projections show that within 25 years the incidence of blindness within this country will increase by 170%, yet there is no Government Strategy to prevent this occurring where it is preventable or alleviate the harm done to those who will lose their sight. In 2003 the Irish Government, along with more than 120 countries signed up to Vision 2020 a global initiative to eliminate the main causes of avoidable blindness by the year 2020. Despite the Irish Government’s further endorsement of this initiative in May 2009 no effort has been made to implement a vision strategy for this country. Avril Daly, Chair of Vispa has made an urgent plea to Mary Harney, Minister for Health to deliver on her promise,

“314 million people worldwide live with sight loss and it can affect everyone from babies through to adults. The World Health Assembly passed the Vision 2020 resolution in May 2003 with the objective of eliminating the main causes of avoidable blindness by the year 2020. Seven years later we still don’t have any figures for the amount of people affected by sight loss in this country or the amount of money that is, or should, be spent on restorations of sight, blindness prevention and support strategies. Many of these eye conditions are degenerative and preventable, so we are calling on Minister Harney to act without further delay and deliver on a Vision Strategy for this country,” she said.

Daly was speaking at the launch in the Merrion Hotel of VISPA Vision Week with Specsavers, a joint initiative by VISPA’s four member organisations of VISPA, National Council for the Blind of Ireland, Irish Guidedogs, St. Joseph’s Centre for the Visually Impaired and Fighting Blindness. Also speaking at the launch, Dr James Reilly, Health Spokesperson for Fine Gael, said the level of interest the Government were taking in the area of sight loss and vision impairment was a disgrace,

“We have the ludicrous situation of the CSO collecting unusable information in this area. All we know is the total number of people in this country who may be deaf or blind but we don’t know which is which. It has taken eight years since we signed up to the strategy to even get a question on the census to find out how many people in this country have a visual impairment. Eight years just to assess the problem, never mind find the solution. This is a clear indication of how the Government prioritises our blind and partially sighted population,” stated Dr Reilly.

Despite this level of inactivity by the Government, VISPA has been working for the last two years fighting for the implementation of a National Vision Strategy. They have partnered with Specsavers for the first ever vision awareness week. The VISPA Vision Week with Specsavers will take place from May 9th to 15th 2010. During the week Specsavers is offering discounted eye tests (€15) to anybody who visits their 36 stores nationwide. Mr Mark Cahill, Consultant Opthalmologist at the Royal Victoria Eye and Ear Hospital and the Beacon Clinic, Sandyford encouraged people to book regular eye tests,

“The three main causes of reduced vision in healthy Irish people are age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma and cataract. An eye examination every two years will increase the likelihood of detecting and treating these diseases early, and thereby reduce the chance of an affected person developing blindness,” warned Mr Cahill.

A number of activities are happening during VISPA Vision Week with Specsavers, including the first time visit to Ireland of Sight Village, Europe’s largest exhibition of assistive technology and vision aids. Sight Village is a free exhibition and will be in the Oriel Hotel, Cork on the 11th and 12th and the Burlington Hotel, Dublin on the 14th and 15th of May. St. Joseph’s Centre for the Visually Impaired will open their first outreach centre in Cork, providing greater access to services for children with a visual impairment living in the south of the country. St. Joseph’s, the only educational facility for children with a visual impairment in Ireland will also host 15 children from a local national school in to their own primary school to spend three days in class with pupils from St. Joseph’s.

A central part of the week is the Making a Difference Awards with Specsavers, these awards aim to recognise the tireless work volunteers have done for those with a visual impairment, people or organisations can be nominated and entry forms can be found in Specsavers stores or online from www.visionweek.ie . Closing date for nominations is July 11th and winners will be announced on World Sight Day, October 14th.

Lisa Walsh, store director for Specsavers, comments, ‘Specsavers is delighted to be the sponsor of the inaugural Making a Difference Awards with Specsavers, as we aim to make a difference to all Irish people with sight issues. We know how even the smallest things can make a difference to someone who is visually impaired so we would encourage people to nominate those have helped make a difference to them, whether it be an individual, community group or business.’

ENDS