Dáil debates
Thursday, 17 October 2013
Cochlear Implants: Motion [Private Members]
12:50 pm
Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source
I move:
That Dáil Éireann:notes that:I wish to share time with Deputies Jonathan O'Brien, Dessie Ellis and Pádraig Mac Lochlainn.-- international best practice in treating children who are profoundly deaf is for the provision of bilateral cochlear implants;further notes:
-- children in this State who are profoundly deaf are only provided with one implant;
-- the absence of a second implant creates problems for these children in differentiating speech in noisy environments, as locating the direction of a sound makes the stress of trying to hear exhausting; and
-- it is a race against time as the auditory nerves to which the implants are connected become more redundant every day and will eventually die if they are not being used; unless implants are connected in the early years (that is by the age of 7 or 8) it is accepted that the operation will be ineffective;-- the provision of cochlear implants for children is an issue of fundamental rights;commends the parents of the children who through their Happy New Ear campaign have raised awareness of this issue; and
-- there are around 200 children throughout the State who may be able to avail of this service;
-- the estimated cost to the State is approximately €12.8 million per annum; and
-- the sterling work being carried out by the specialist cochlear implants unit in Beaumont Hospital;
calls on the Government to ensure that:-- the proposed business plan by the Health Service Executive (HSE) and Beaumont Hospital to introduce a bilateral cochlear implant programme is contained in Budget 2014 and is part of the 2014 HSE estimates process; and
-- children who are profoundly deaf receive the most effective care possible and that international best practice is applied.
No comments