Mary Moran (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I apologise for being late this morning. Much of what I wanted to say has been said. I welcome the progress made but we have a long way to go. Everyone has goodwill towards this. Like Deputy Conlan, I live along the Border in Dundalk. I do not understand why an ambulance from the North cannot come into the South and vice versa. In emergency care, this point must be addressed.
I refer to the options for people with disabilities to access special care across the Border. This applies to the search for paediatricians. In my area, there is no orthopaedic paediatric surgeon in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital. It is a centre of excellence, and despite numerous questions I have submitted seeking details, I have yet to receive a response. From sitting in the hospital for up to eight hours waiting for an orthopaedic appointment, I know people can go across the Border and access it more easily and quicker. This is not available to us. What plans exist in this respect? At the moment, the facilities are not in place.

We have spoken about nomadic people with various addresses but I actually know of people whose children have special needs who have moved across the Border. They have upped and moved across the Border because they could access treatment and services in Newry that they could not get in Dundalk. That is appalling and it must be addressed urgently.

I recently dealt with a mother whose son had applied for funding under the treatment abroad scheme for a very rare condition. He had been assessed and accepted by a hospital in England, which would provide the required treatment. When he came back and applied to have that treatment, he was told that the treatment was available in Ireland and his application was refused. What is the criteria for qualification under that scheme? When he checked the situation here, the orthopaedic specialist he saw in Cappagh Hospital told him that he would have to go to England for treatment. He was assessed and accepted for treatment. The witnesses may know of the case to which I am referring. I know the individual returned to England for some treatment but has been experiencing problems again in recent months.