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

I want to express my utter disappointment that this country's excessive waiting lists have continued since well before I was elected to this House. People of all ages are having to wait for unacceptable lengths of time. My offices are inundated with people who are suffering with medical conditions and are looking for help because they have been on waiting lists for excessive periods of time. Many people have been waiting for two years or more to be treated.

In west Cork, many people are waiting up to five years for cataract operations. Many of them are elderly. This is an utterly unacceptable length of time to wait for a procedure that takes only ten or 15 minutes. As we cannot resolve this issue in the Republic, Deputy Danny Healy-Rae and myself have sent ten buses to Belfast to relieve the pressure we have in west Cork.

West Cork has the largest population of elderly people in Ireland and we need extra beds for respite care. Waiting times for respite beds need to be reduced. We also have children waiting a year and half or longer for ophthalmic appointments while children with scoliosis are on long waiting lists as well. Their medical conditions worsen while they are waiting to be seen and treated. This is a disgrace. The children of today are our future of tomorrow and they deserve better. The closures of the accident and emergency departments in Bantry, Mallow and the South Infirmary hospitals without sufficient capacity being made available in Cork University Hospital, CUH, and the Mercy hospitals have contributed to the excessive waiting lists. The programme for Government promised the most fundamental reform of our health service in the history of the State. The need for change in the health service is unquestionable and waiting lists need to be dramatically reduced. Where is this change and when will we see it?

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