THE RATE of blindness may rise by 170 per cent over the next 25 years in the Republic, new research claims.
A rise in diabetes, coupled with an increase in Ireland’s older population, may cause the increase, according to the research, which was revealed at the European Conference of the International Council for the Education of the Visually Impaired at Trinity College Dublin yesterday.
The author of the research and head of optometry at Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast, Prof Jonathan Jackson, unveiled the statistics as part of a research project which was conducted among children living in the greater Belfast area.
Speaking at the conference, President Mary McAleese praised the work of delegates, who represented 38 countries worldwide, for their “focus on the educational experience of the visually impaired”.
However, she stressed that the educational challenges facing an increasing visually impaired population must be met.
“Those with disability cannot afford to be left behind by our changing world and their ready access to first-class education and training is directly related to the fullness of their lived lives.”
Prof Jackson said he dominant role that changing technology and communication played in everyday life was found to present difficulties for those with vision impairmentsd.
He found that approximately 16 in every 10,000 children developed impaired vision and that up to 40 per cent of cases could be left undetected while those affected can be “left to flounder”.
Focusing on learning from experiences across Europe, Prof Jackson named Sweden and Spain as examples of states that boasted “finely tuned services” for the visually impaired.
He also expressed the hope that the Irish and British governments would work together in their efforts to tackle the issue.
In an attempt to face the challenges of visual impairment and support families who are affected, Brian Allen, chief executive of St Joseph’s Centre for the Visually Impaired in Dublin, said the centre must update their services.
He said a greater number of children were presenting with complex additional disabilities in addition to vision problems and called on the Government to support plans to improve the centre in their efforts to meet an increasing demand for outreach support to children.
The conference will run in the Hamilton Building in Trinity until Friday.
More than 120 international speakers will deliver talks and workshops throughout this week, while exhibitors will have specialist equipment for those with visual impairments on display.