Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)

No wonder the Ceann Comhairle got the good job. He is much better at it than I am.

I wished to ask the Minister for Health and Children if she is aware that the number of children attending for care at the paediatric diabetes unit at Cork University Hospital has risen to 270, which is more than twice as many as were attending four years ago; if she will outline the extra resources that have been given to the unit to cope with this extra demand; if she will explain why the clinical nurse specialist who was to take up her post on 23 September has not been appointed; and if she will make a statement on the matter.

It is not normal for a Deputy to read out his or her entire request for the Adjournment debate, but it is important, for many reasons, that this one be read out. It is virtually the same Adjournment request that was made on 7 March 2006. Since then the numbers being diagnosed with childhood diabetes at CUH have risen from 207 to 270. We should bear in mind that we are talking about children as young as 18 months. They are sometimes younger, but 18 months is near the average. In one instance a mother told me that she was in shock at having discovered that her child had diabetes and that she was given a syringe and an orange and told to practice on that and she would be fine, and to go home and treat her child.

All that is available to the parents in Cork is the help they can give to one another. They do not have a 24-hour service, as exists in Dublin, where if a child's blood sugar seems to be fluctuating a parent can pick up the telephone to the nurse specialist. They do not have a full-time paediatrician. As and from today, even though it has not been confirmed, there is the possibility that a dietitian with specific interest in children and childhood diabetes may have been appointed, but this is not fully confirmed. There is have one nurse when there should be three, and that one nursing post is filled by two half-time nurses. This time last year an additional nurse was promised, but that appointment was not made. There is no oncologist. There is a specialist who also works with other specialties.

Where do we go from here? There were parents outside CUH this morning and they did not want to be there. These mothers and fathers have other things to do. They have sick children to look after but they know that if they do not take a stand, the quality of their children's lives will be immeasurably worse.

The outcome for children with diabetes is good if they get the proper care and attention. If one lives in Dublin, one gets the proper care and attention. In fairness, the staff in Temple Street hospital have taken in children from Cork. Parents are willing to travel every three months to have their children get the proper treatment, but why should children in the south, from where the Ceann Comhairle comes, have less of a chance of proper health care than those in Dublin? Clearly, we are not treating all the children of this nation equally.

I may get the same answer tonight as I got on 7 March 2006, the end of which stated:

Hospital management has reported that the suggestions made at this meeting [between hospital management and the parents] are currently being examined. The development of the paediatric diabetes service remains a priority for the executive management board of Cork University Hospital. The Tánaiste is confident that the Health Service Executive will continue to monitor the delivery of this service to ensure that the needs of the service users are prioritised and met.

When will we see that and what about the health of these children?

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