A senior medical professional says that sufferers of epilepsy in Ireland are suffering and dying as a result of underinvestment in treatment.
Dr Norman Delanty, a consultant neurologist with Beaumont Hospital, said that Ireland ranks last in Europe in terms of the services provided.
He was speaking at a seminar in Dublin today organised by Brainwave, the Irish Epilepsy Association.
Ireland has the lowest ratio of neurologists per head of population in Europe with numbers a quarter the level they should be at, according to Dr Delanty.
Up to 40,000 people suffer from the epilepsy in Ireland, which along with stroke, is the most common disorder requiring hospitalisation.
Dr Delanty says that sufferers cannot access treatment quickly, either publically or privately, and often spend two years on a waiting list for assessment, and another two years for treatment.
Fifty million people worldwide suffer from epilepsy.
