One of Ireland's best known celebrities, chat show host Graham Norton, is calling for more services for people with Parkinson's disease (PD).

Parkinson's is a progressive neurological disease, the symptoms of which include tremors, stiffness and slow movement. An estimated eight thousand people in Ireland are affected and there is no cure.

The number of Irish people with the condition is expected to double over the next two decades.

Mr Norton's father, William, died seven years ago in Cork after a three-year battle with PD. The chat show host recently launched an appeal on behalf of Parkinson's UK, but is also lending his support to a campaign by the Parkinson's Association of Ireland (PAI), which is aiming to strengthen services here.

Both the Irish and UK associations are working to raise awareness of PD, but also to help fund services, some of which are hugely under-resourced. One area that is particularly lacking is nurse specialists.

PD nurse specialists provide a ‘vital frontline service and support' to patients, however there are just five in Ireland - three in Dublin, one in Galway and one in Limerick.

According to international best practice, there should be at least one nurse specialist for every 500 Parkinson's patients. Currently in Ireland, there is one nurse specialist for every 1,600 PD patients.

Commenting on these figures, Mr Norton said that in this current day and age, ‘it is incredible to think that services and supports for people with Parkinson's are so poor in Ireland'.

"In the UK, even with the current number of nurses around 350, the caseload can still vary from 320 people with Parkinson's per nurse to over 700, which is far too many. However, given the ratio in Ireland of one nurse per 1,600 patients, we should be following the UK's lead in this and aiming at more manageable numbers," he said.

He noted that in his home county of Cork, there ‘is not a single nurse specialist', despite the fact that an estimated 1,000 people there have the disease.

"We all understand about Ireland's economic problems but however it happens, through the government finding money somewhere or through the generosity of the Irish people, finance needs to be made available for nurse specialists in Ireland.

"I know from our own family experience with my father, you need every support possible with Parkinson's. People who have Parkinson's need to fight it but they cannot do it alone. It's just too big a fight to have on your own. You need back-up services and supports," he added.

For more information on Parkinson's, call the PAI helpline on 1800 359 359 or log onto parkinsons.ie