Asthma affects almost 500,000 in Ireland

An international conference will hear later today that almost half a million people are affected by asthma in Ireland.

The conference, which is taking place in Dublin, will also hear that Ireland now has the fourth highest prevalence of asthma worldwide.

It is understood that the rise in the incidence of the disease is due to our lifestyle and environment.

Health experts from Finland, Canada, the UK and the Netherlands will also discuss their experience of asthma in their own countries.

Dr Patrick Manning, the head of the Asthma Society's medical council, said shifting spending to primary care could have a big effect here.