REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE 50TH ANNUAL MEETING OF THE IRISH CARDIAC SOCIETY
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE 50TH ANNUAL MEETING OF THE IRISH CARDIAC SOCIETY FRIDAY, 24TH SEPTEMBER, 1999
Mr. President, Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen.
Tá an-áthas orm bheith anseo i bhur measc inniú. Go raibh míle maith agaibh as ucht bhur bhfáilte chaoin.
My thanks to Professor John Horgan for the kind invitation to me on behalf of your Society to address you on this very special occasion in the history of the Irish Cardiac Society – your 50th Annual Meeting.
Today’s Ireland, sees for the first time in centuries a prospering, achieving people on the crest of a wave of hope. Our economy gives us great pride and encouragement: record levels of employment growth offer greater opportunities for independence and a stake in this dynamic Ireland; our young, well-educated population have a confidence in themselves and their country no other generation has known; our people have begun the journey to a lasting peace on our island. These are blessed times for our country, times we should rejoice in, take legitimate pride in without growing smugly complacent about what remains to be achieved. On many fronts there is work to do in delivering real opportunities to all our people and this generation is fortunate to have the means to make a real difference.
Not all differences are made by government, by policy makers, by others, by anyone rather than me. In the field of healthcare personal responsibility is now a vexed and critical issue. Where we strive to ensure the continued health of our economy, we as a nation fail in many respects to attend to our own health. As we come to expect and demand more from our health services, we often, regrettably pay little regard to even the most fundamental lessons in health care – failing to take proper sensible care of our own health. The high incidence of smoking among young people and in particular young women is an obvious case in point - the sedentary and inactive lifestyles of so many more. Combined with bad diet and the stresses of modern day living, it is of little wonder that the incidence of cardiovascular disease in Ireland is so high, representing more than 40% of all deaths.
There are issues here for the individual and for all of us as a community – there is the responsibility each of us has and can’t shirk from in our own lives and the responsibility the community has to ensure we have the best information to help us make good choices. The report of the Cardiovascular Health Strategy Group “Building Healthier Hearts” launched just two months ago by the Taoiseach will help us make better choices. Professors Walsh and Horgan amongst others deserve our gratitude for their tremendous contribution to the report. It tells us that our death rates and incident rates need not be so high and that real change can be achieved through commitment to a national programme and sets out how to go about this task.
As we look at statistics that tell us that we have twice the average EU premature death rate amongst men through coronary heart disease with the figure for women not much better, we could very easily become despondent. After all we are well aware that cardiovascular disease is a mainly preventable disease and that with relatively small changes to lifestyle the chances of contracting the disease are significantly reduced. We can effect real change through education and guidance – guidance which the “Building Healthier Hearts” Strategy document provides.
Cardiology is at the very coalface of treatment services. The type of interventions available today can improve the quality of life of many people who would otherwise have to undergo painful surgery. I am glad to see that so many of Ireland’s brightest and best have been given the opportunities to return to practice cardiology in Ireland helping us provide cardiac care in line with the best International standard.
Over the last half-century the Irish Cardiac Society has contributed much in the battle against cardiovascular disease. It has provided a forum for cardiologists to meet and discuss topics of mutual interest to the benefit of us all, especially in the area of paediatrics. We can all appreciate the wonder of saving a child’s life and the wonder of adding to the quality of that life.
I notice that the average attendance at your Society’s meetings in the early years was 12. Looking around the gathering here this evening I see that this figure has expanded considerably to reflect the level of service now provided by cardiologists in Ireland and the importance to which cardiologists place on participating in the activities of the Irish Cardiac Society. Your work has brought considerable fresh hope and optimism where there was once little of either. I wish you well as you develop and promote a healthy partnership between the medical profession, the political leaders and the people of Ireland. Out of that partnership we can make the story of Ireland and cardiovascular disease a much happier one than it has been.
I would like to finish by saying how encouraged I am by the many good works of the Irish Cardiac Society in its first fifty years. My congratulations to you on those achievements and I wish you well in your endeavours throughout the next fifty. You work, not for yourselves, not for any sectional professional interest but for the well-being of men, women, children, so that their lives are lived better. You lift all our hearts!
Mo bhuíochas libh arís. Guím gach rath agus séan ar bhur gcuid oibre san am atá le teacht.