Jim Daly (Cork South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his response. Deputy Michael Creed and I have made the case. It is heartbreaking to have parents come to a constituency office in these circumstances. Clearly, they will do anything for their children, as any of us would do for ours. They are completely helpless. Talking to them about resources and such issues is irrelevant. We are talking about real people.

Their child has a deformity of the spine, which is curving and getting progressively worse. It is heartbreaking to listen to the parents, who feel so helpless. They are pleading with us as their representatives in this House. Those children do not have a voice here and we are their representatives. I hope we have brought forward the human side to this.

I endorse what Deputy Creed said. It is not a case of seeking to take one or two names from the list. There are 120 children involved, all of whom are cherished equally by the State. That waiting list should be attended to as a matter of priority and the necessary resources should be made available in the preparation of the HSE service plan, which is under way at present.

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