Eugene Murphy (Roscommon-Galway, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I wish to make a short contribution to support this Bill, as my colleagues Deputy McGuinness and Deputy Rabbitte have already done. It is important to get this hospital put on a statutory basis. As already has been noted, we have been waiting for a long time for it. I was doing some research on our hospitals and some facts on the national children's hospital, now incorporated in Tallaght Hospital, came up earlier today. It was founded in 1821 and was the first children's hospital in Ireland and Britain. It is one of the oldest in Europe. I was equating that against the 13 years that have elapsed since a Government decision was made to build a new hospital. A child that was one or two years of age then is now 15. That is since we decided to build a children's hospital.

It is shameful that this would happen because of our system and delays within it. I am surprised that people are not angrier. We do have to deal with planning issues and objections and we have to give everybody a fair crack of the whip but imagine that 13 years have elapsed since the decision was made to build this hospital. The Taoiseach and the Minister are now announcing a date of 2022. One wonders if we will not have that date pushed out again. I hope that will not happen again but it is possible that it will. We have heard what Deputy McGuinness and Deputy Rabbitte said about the appalling waiting lists for children in many of our hospitals.

The figures are shocking; 44,000, including 16,000 waiting for more than 12 months and 10,000 waiting for more than 18 months. It shocks and hurts me, as a new Deputy, that families have been so badly treated in our society. We have all helped families with sick children. We have all had the calls late at night to contact a consultant or a hospital to get something done. One has to pay tribute to the outstanding work done in hospitals such as Tallaght and Crumlin, and the outstanding care given there. There have been great breakthroughs in terms of children's health in this country. We have the medical people. We may have shortages of them in some areas but the brains and the commitment are there. However, the system has let those families down desperately, and let many people in the health sector down as well. I am talking about the people who work within the system.

An Bord Pleanála has approved the choice of St. James's Hospital as the site for the new national children's hospital. There were many battles around that, and many different points of view were expressed. We can all look at it and agree that perhaps there will be some shortcomings with the site. There was a lack of consensus among clinicians and other stakeholders around that choice. We should remember that it would have been impossible to have unanimous agreement on a site. There was always going to be a group of people, including individuals and politicians, who had different views or who had a different site in mind. Nobody could guarantee that any alternative site would have got planning. We are where we are, and I am not as pessimistic as is Deputy Mattie McGrath. While I foresee some problems, people should wake up and realise we are talking about our children, the future generations of citizens. Early years are so important when it comes to dealing with illnesses and it is essential that we move as swiftly as we can. Nobody, whether politician or clinician, should put any roadblock in place to cause further delay, which would cause further anger to many people in our society.

Many people from rural areas have had their children rushed to Dublin and looked after very well. They slept on the floor if it had to be done; they stayed with their children and hospital staff to help their children through very difficult times. The children's hospital is long overdue. I am hopeful that it will be finished quickly. As the development of a site progresses, I acknowledge that issues will arise.

I recently had experience of hospitals due to an issue in my own family. My mother, who is now 82 years old, had a terrible experience in Portiuncula Hospital in Ballinasloe. The staff were brilliant and outstanding. My mother was referred there by a doctor and got to the hospital at 6.30 p.m. She was left sitting in a chair until 7 a.m. the next morning. Fortunately one family member was able to stay with her. She sent me a text message the next morning to say that she had just got a bed and that she was extremely tired. She was not worried about herself, however. She said to me that she was concerned about sick children, two or three years of age, in buggies waiting for a bed. Parents were trying to keep them as settled as possible, and staff were doing their best. Doctors were not able to see those children of two and three years of age because they had no bed. An 82 year old woman, in good health, who had been referred by her doctor but otherwise in good shape, was left sitting for a long time. Her concern was the youngsters. The experience really made me think about how we treat these issues, and consider the delays in place. We all must think about those situations.

We have seen the figures for the waiting lists for children, which are desperate, and not improving. The outpatient figures are particularly shocking. It is so important that there are no delays when children are being treated, because it is often the case that the illness can be dealt with swiftly and that the child can be restored to health and back to participating in society, able to attend their schools and play games. When things are prolonged and children are left waiting in outpatient departments, illnesses deteriorate and the children get sicker. It costs the State more money, but it might also cost a child more, including worse illness and even death.

I will not hold up the debate any further. Like my colleagues, I am delighted that we are moving. However, I want to say again that sick children being forced to wait for treatment is unacceptable to me, and to most people.

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