Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I want to be clear that this is of huge importance. People are going blind while waiting for their operations. I and a manager from a hospital presented the Minister with a plan specifically for County Kerry. We were talking about carrying out operations in County Kerry. When is that hospital going to something it did in the past, which is carry out cataract operations on people in County Kerry to specifically target that waiting list and to take people off it who have been waiting two, three or four years to have cataracts removed from their eyes? It is one of the most basic operations that can be carried out. If they were paying for it, it would cost about €2,700. It is a shame and a disgrace in this day and age. If it was happening in Africa, we would be outraged and asking how it could be allowed to happen in any part of the world. However, it is happening under our noses and in County Kerry. I have been highlighting it for a long time. I ask the Minister to answer the specific question about Tralee in County Kerry. When are we going to see operations being done in that town?

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