Michael Collins (Cork South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

On page 59 of the programme for Government is a commitment to update the national eye care plan. A report released today by the Association of Optometrists Ireland confirms that the average waiting time for cataract surgery is 28 months and up to five years in areas like west Cork. It is more than two years since the Government promised to tackle the issue. Were it not for the cross-Border directive, the numbers waiting would be much higher. Deputy Danny Healy-Rae and myself have sent bus loads of people, most of whom were in their 80s and 90s, to Belfast for cataract surgery. Children are also waiting up to 15 months for an appointment. It is nothing short of scandalous the way patients, many of whom are elderly, are being treated. I have raised this time and again in the Chamber but to no avail. It is Belfast or blind. Will the Government treat this issue with the urgency it requires and arrange for cataract surgery to be carried out in Bantry or Mallow general hospitals to reduce the waiting lists in the Munster area?

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