Arthur Spring (Kerry North-West Limerick, Labour) | Oireachtas source

According to the Department, the budget for the NTPF was €17 million in 2013 while it was €5 million in 2014. That is why I am asking what the budget is for 2015. It does not concur.

I have hit the nail on the head regarding what the problem is. The Minister said, "However, I have been assured that in line with the waiting lists initiative, the hospital has written to all patients waiting longer than 15 months for a ophthalmology surgical procedure to offer outsourcing to a private medical provider." A community medical ophthalmologist in Kerry refers people to Cork University Hospital. At the end of a two-year period - it is even longer than the 15 months the Minister cited - they are referred to a private community medical ophthalmologist, who has exactly the same qualifications as the original ophthalmologist, and then referred to a surgeon. This is over a three-year period.

It is not the Minister's fault. The reason I raise it with him is that I know he can go about solving it. Unlike many of the problems raised here, I will not just tell him about the problem but will also provide him with the solution. There is an ophthalmologic surgeon in the Bon Secours Hospital in Tralee. Kerry General Hospital does not have the ability to procure the services for these people, one of whom is an amputee with diabetes, one of whom is 90 years of age and can barely see and one of whom can barely hear and uses lip reading. It costs €3,000 per eye for this to be done privately. These people do not have that kind of money. What funding is available in the HSE? The Minister's budget is increasing rapidly. We are talking about at least 40 people in the Tralee area and more than 100 in County Kerry. The quality of life of these people, who are in their twilight years, is declining. We need to operate on their eyes, remove their cataracts and give them a better quality of life. It is not rocket science but it is a joke that people see a person in Cork who has the same qualifications as the person they saw in Kerry and that they end up on a three-year waiting list. I implore the Minister to take action and secure some funds to give these people quality of life. We need to show some compassion as a Government.

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