Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It is irrelevant and is a typical diversion on the part of the Tánaiste.

If it is as the Tánaiste says, namely, that the Government has made the necessary investment, why is it there 250 children with scoliosis waiting to see a consultant or to have surgery? Why is it that Cork University Hospital has had to cancel all non-emergency procedures? That is not evidence of investment and progress, it is evidence of a lack of investment and of chaos and failure. Perhaps the most acute failure is the fact that just as we have children eking out an existence with their parents in bed and breakfasts, hostels and hotels, so too, on the Tánaiste's watch, there are 250 children, many in excruciating pain, who need an answer now.

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