Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)

I am concerned about this area, particularly as we move towards providing more community-based services. Even within the hospital system, some of our largest hospitals have too few chiropodists and major issues arise. The fee must be realistic to provide a service. While I am not in favour of patients paying a top-up fee, unless appropriate fees are paid, chiropodists will not provide the service.

Entitlement and eligibility legislation will clarify who is entitled to services of this kind. A separate issue arises regarding those with diabetes and vulnerable groups such as the elderly. If we do not put in place preventative measures and chiropody services, more serious issues will arise which will be not only more severe for the patient but also more costly from the perspective of the health service. This is one of the areas in which major change must occur in the way we provide services at community level in particular.

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