Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I listened carefully to the Minister's contribution on this issue. The fact is that children in the State who receive cochlear implants only receive one, and will still only receive one after the Minister's comments today, rather than the two which the Minister admitted is best practice in other countries.

The provision of cochlear implants for children is an issue of fundamental rights. Children not only have the right to be heard but also the right to hear. It is a race against time as the auditory nerves to which the implants are connected become more redundant every day and will eventually die if they are not being used. According to Dr. Viani, the surgeon with the cochlear implant programme in Beaumont Hospital, unless these implants are connected in the early years, by the age of seven or eight years the operation will be ineffective. After that, children born and raised in silence will never speak, and that is a huge difficulty that has an adverse impact on the rest of their lives.

The cost of a single implant is between €18,000 and €20,000. The provision of only one implant limits a child's ability to distinguish where noises are coming from and limits their ability to hear in busy or noisy places such as shopping centres, classrooms and urban environments.

We wish to ensure that all children fully participate in our society. This motion is about ensuring that these 200 children can do that. Children who are deaf require greater educational support and special care packages and often suffer serious psychiatric problems and depression later. They also have difficulty getting work. With cochlear implants they can make a positive contribution to society and find it easier to get employment and fully participate in society. There is not only a moral argument for this, but also an economic argument. Obviously, it should be the least important one, but there is an economic argument for ensuring these children have two implants. Having only one implant can seriously limit their ability to reach their full potential and to communicate with others. For the sake of €18,000 per child we could have 200 more fully engaged, active and participating citizens.

I know money must be found somewhere. If we reduced the salaries of those with the highest incomes at the top of the public sector and the health services, we might find money to provide these implants. There are 200 children who would benefit from this. Some of their parents have formed a campaign group, some of whose members are in the Visitors' Gallery, to ensure this programme is established as a matter of urgency. I applaud and commend them on their Happy New Ear campaign and for continuing to raise and keep this issue on the political agenda on behalf of their children. Somebody must speak up for their children.

The Government has the solution. The problem is that as the child grows the nerves to which the implant should be connected die if they are not being used. The hope of a further implant is lost. However, this is an issue that can be resolved. The solution exists and is best practice in other states in the developed world. The amount of money involved is relatively small, even in these straitened times. If the political will exists, we should be able to do this.

I will leave the last word to one of the parents.

Please meet our little boy Alex. He is three years old and profoundly deaf. On the third of October 2012 he was blessed to have a cochlear implant in Beaumont hospital under the great care of Dr. Laura Viani and Dr. Walsh. Since that day we are on a long journey to help him listen and distinguish sounds. His whole little life he has struggled with life due to not hearing. Now he has begun to hear but only one cochlear implant is just not enough. He finds it hard to locate where sounds are coming from and every day we see his confusion when he hears something and cannot work out where it is. There is a solution to this. Bilateral implantation is proven to minimise these problems and all over Europe and the USA it is standard practice to implant both ears, but not in Ireland. Funding has not been made available. It seems ridiculous because if someone was blind and they could operate to fix it, would they only do one eye?

Those are the words of Amie and Roger Connor talking about their child, Alex.

I appeal to the Minister to do the right thing. Allow these children to develop and grow to become full members of society.

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