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

In the section of the programme for Government on creating a healthy Ireland, the Government commits to updating the national eye care plan, including an evaluation of the Sligo model for cataract surgery. Anyone who read the account of 87 year old Agnes O'Connor in The Irish Timesthis morning will have been outraged by the failure of the health system to treat her eye deterioration properly or speedily. Thousands of patients with eye problems are at risk of permanent sight loss because of the loss of resources available to the ophthalmology service. This has been described as a hidden scandal. Some 13,000 are waiting for treatment and 3,500 have been waiting for more than a year. The report on the review of primary eye services has been delayed by a year. Can the Taoiseach indicate when he expects the review to be published? Is he prepared to commit additional resources to tackle this scandal?

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