Ned O'Sullivan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am in my office in Leinster House. I welcome the witnesses and thank them for coming before the committee. They have come from various distances; the people from west Cork, like me, and County Kerry have the longest-distance journey to make. The witnesses are all very committed. I am full of admiration for them and the calm, dispassionate way in which they have brought the situation they deal with daily to the committee. I hope it will be worthwhile for the witnesses to be here and that the committee may be able to take up at least some of the key issues they have raised. Under the chairmanship of our esteemed Chairman, we may perhaps proceed and progress things. Like Deputy Sherlock, I am more familiar with the medical scenario in counties Cork and Kerry overall. I am conscious of the queues and bottlenecks in assessment and treatment for a wide range of issues including speech therapy, ophthalmology and dental services. It is grossly unfair that young children with Down's syndrome should not, at the very least, be treated equally and should be fast-forwarded or prioritised, which is something we must examine. I support the Government, but every Government will say it has put in the resources, funding and quite probably it has. It is the same old story; the money goes in at one end and by the time it gets down to the end user and the person in need, it seems to have dissipated and there are huge time delays. I am conscious of what was said about treatment in blocks, which was very well presented. When it is going on, it is excellent, but that means there are peaks and valleys. In any form of medical service that is not a good idea.

I have family connections with Down's syndrome and I have family members working in the Cork area in the delivery of medical services, either in general medicine or neuro consultancy and that kind of thing. I have a fair idea of the general picture in Munster. To what extent are people disadvantaged in areas like west Cork or perhaps counties Donegal or Sligo, as opposed to major urban centres? I had sympathy for the spokeswoman for the west Cork area because on top of all the other difficulties there is the distance factor, which, as a rural man, I am familiar with. I assume, like everything else, early intervention and early assistance are far more valuable than ongoing assistance. That seems to be part of the problem. In general, does it get easier as the children get older, into their late teens and beyond? Are the requirements for assistance ongoing to the same extent or does it become sort of easier? I am not trying to suggest for one second that it is easy at any stage. God knows, the load parents like the witnesses have taken on is not easy. They are to be congratulated for taking that road and going on this journey for the sake of their children. I could go on but many of the questions I wanted to ask have already been raised, particularly by Deputy Sherlock. I wish the witnesses well and give them an undertaking that I will take away what they have said. I am on a learning curve, like many others. The presentations were all very coherent and impressive. I will work on them with the Chair of the committee to see if we can make progress.