Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It is my genuine belief that there are many children in the country who are not being looked after and who are in vulnerable situations, from those with disabilities to those waiting for hospital and outpatient appointments. The programme for Government makes it clear that we need to plan ahead for this new generation by putting in place measures that provide them equality of opportunity, etc.. However, the latest figures from, for example, from the National Treatment Purchase Fund, NTPF, show that 8,726 children have been waiting over 18 months for outpatient appointments with consultants. Further analysis shows that overall 52,000 children are waiting for appointments and that 15,000 of them have been waiting for more than a year. By any yardstick, these are worrying figures in terms of how children are being prioritised by the health service and they illustrate that commitments in the programme for Government in respect of children and young people in general are not being realised.

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