Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for appearing again today, and I acknowledge all the work of the Neurological Alliance and for putting this up the agenda. I am not a member of this committee and I thank the Chair for letting me in today. It is a very important issue for us, and for me living in Mayo.

I want to speak of a case and ask advice on it. I have listened with interest while I have been in here and outside this morning. If you live in Mayo and many other parts of the west, you struggle to access neurology services. The struggle is monumental and the regional inequity is stark. This is an account of one young woman, a constituent of mine, trying to ease her suffering. I will read out her own words:

I am a 40-year-old mother of three young children living in rural Mayo suffering with debilitating nerve pain in my face called trigeminal neuralgia. I cannot access the care I need. I have been in and out of Sligo hospital, left on a corridor in severe pain for over 36 hours, sent home with no help or follow up. My GP has done his absolute best for me but is at the end of what he can do, and I have not had a single pain-free moment in over six weeks. I am going back to Sligo again tomorrow to try to access neurology through the emergency department again and dreading what's ahead of me. Even though I cannot afford it I have tried to get a private appointment only to be told the wait is six months. I cannot live like this for another six months. I am signed off work but am not entitled to illness benefit so my husband is now the sole earner trying to pay the rent and keep the children fed. I need to sort this pain out so I can return to work as soon as possible. I would appreciate any help in trying to access neurology services so that the pain can be controlled, and my life can no longer be on hold. My children are suffering as Mammy cannot function most days due to the pain.

That is the reality of what we are talking about here, as the witnesses know and have pointed out examples. We have been getting to part of it this morning, but in my book, somebody has to be in charge. There is just such dysfunction. Is the Minister in charge? Is the director general of the Department in charge? Who is in charge? We cannot just say that is the system. If money is being allocated by a Minister, you follow that money not only to see it gets to where it is supposed to get to but you then evaluate that along the system to make sure it delivers the outcomes the Minister has committed to. Committing money into the ether and hoping it lands in the right place and has the right results is just not acceptable in this day and age. I am asking for this woman, who is in this severe pain today, and her family will be getting further into financial stress because of what is happening. I want to bring this to the Minister this afternoon on the floor of the Dáil Chamber. What do I need him, her or whatever Minister is there to do immediately to alleviate the suffering of this woman and her family?