Mark Ward (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Can I ask a question? The Maskey report highlighted the shocking mistreatment of children in Kerry and community healthcare organisation, CHO, area 4 and, at the time, the Government said it was going to put an emphasis on CHO area 4 and fixing the problems in that area. The Government promised action but the statistics are the statistics and are not open to being seen as anything other than what they are.

The figures for March, which I got yesterday, show that 340 children have been waiting more than a year for an appointment in CHO 4. The national figure is 682 so nearly 50% of all the children who have been waiting for more than a year are in CHO 4. It is the one area where the Government promised action. It promised to put emphasis on the area but I do not see that taking place. Why is that happening in this particular CHO area? Almost 50% of all children who have been waiting for more than a year are in CHO 4.