John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The news is reasonable if one were to take a helicopter view of the situation, but the stark fact is in the first paragraph of the Minister of State's reply - that is, that a total of 64 children have been waiting longer than a year for ENT services. I appreciate that the Minister of State has attempted to respond to some of the issues I raised, including whether there is another hospital within the hospital group in which services can be provided. I accept that efforts are being made by the Minister to relocate some procedures to those hospitals. Could the Minister respond directly to the case I raise? There is no good news specifically for my constituent. I wonder what I will go back and tell the parents of the child in question. I could say X and Y is happening from a macro perspective but there is no good news in terms of the specific child's needs being met immediately. I acknowledge the efforts made by the Minister of State to respond but I request that she speak personally to the Minister for Health. I accept that he would not have been apprised of the specific nature of individual case when he received notice of the Topical Issue but I would be very grateful if he could examine the matter and respond specifically to the case I raise.

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