John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the agreement between Vertex and the HSE. We got positive news yesterday on the provision of Orkambi and Kalydeco for sufferers of cystic fibrosis, CF. It comes during the national awareness week for cystic fibrosis. I commend Cystic Fibrosis Ireland, all the families and their supporters for their persistence in campaigning for this issue over a considerable period. However, the crisis around CF therapies is also evidence of the wider crisis in our health service. Two weeks ago, Dr. Tom Keane, former director of the State's cancer control programme, said that if any other country had the kind of problems found in the Irish health service, the Government would not survive. He described the health service as being close to total systems failure and called for the delivery of health care to change before there is what he described as a profoundly negative impact on people dependent on the public system.

The Towards 2026 report argues for greater accountability, clarity on funding, better leadership and stronger political support. The Government has failed dismally on all of these fronts. This week, we learned that there are 82 unfilled posts across community mental health services that cater for children and adolescents with severe mental health disorders, including suicidal youngsters. This is a damning indictment of the Government. What measures will it take to address this matter urgently?

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