Colm Keaveney (Galway East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Scoliosis is a condition that affects several hundred children and adolescents in Ireland. It is a progressive disease that involves the curvature of the spine. It causes increasing difficulty with breathing and has an impact on the heart and other internal organs. As the Tánaiste can imagine, it has a particular effect on children who are sensitive with respect to their appearance as they travel through their school lives. It is a very sensitive situation. Scoliosis has an impact on the condition and mental health of children and affects how they get about the place.

This issue was forcefully brought to my attention by a young woman called Sophie from Galway. She is 15 years old. She once led a cheerful, confident and outgoing life. She had an excellent attendance record in school. She was once a grade A student. In February 2014, she was diagnosed with scoliosis. By the summer of that year, her condition had deteriorated and urgent surgery was recommended. She went through many tests and scans in preparation for the necessary surgery. Neither Sophie nor Sophie's mother has heard a word from the HSE since those tests and scans were done. She has been left in limbo since that time. That has too often been the experience of many families who carry the burden of scoliosis. It seems the HSE and the Minister do not act until people in the media, such as Ferghal Blaney of the Irish Daily Mail, contact the HSE to ask about scoliosis cases.

The delay of almost two years is now having an impact on Sophie's internal organs. When she presented herself to a GP yesterday, she learned that the curvature of her spine is now at an angle of 80°. The impact of this could puncture her lung. Worse still has been the impact on her mental health. She is no longer able to attend school. Sophie is now on anti-depressants as a consequence of having to wait two years for an intervention.

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