Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

With young Ryan's case, 50 pages of information has been sent to the HSE and the long-term illness card does not cover all the aids and facilities required by the child. The Taoiseach is claiming that by the end of the year, free GP care for children aged under six will be rolled out, so there is no justification for this kind of behaviour. In October, the Taoiseach indicated his hope that the case would be resolved to the satisfaction of Ryan's mother; it has not and 65,000 people have signed a petition in that regard.

I do not wish to mention the name of the little girl, although it is in the public domain. There was a submission from Dr. Aengus Ó Marcaigh, consultant haematologist, which outlined very clearly that the diagnosis and treatment has required the parents of the child to provide a level of care which is greatly in excess of that normally required by a child of her age. The mother wrote that her daughter has been diagnosed with B-cell lymphoma, a very rare cancer, which is being managed by a medical team consisting of a number of consultants. The medical condition is constantly evolving.

In such cases, parents want security and they do not need the stress and anxiety that the endless toing and froing with officialdom brings while they are dealing with a very sick child in hospital. It seems there is no acknowledgement or recognition of that when parents are in such very difficult circumstances.

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