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

Figures recently published by the EU show Ireland that, together with Slovakia, have the joint lowest rates for operations to remove cataracts. Both countries perform an average of two cataract operations per 1,000 individuals each year. In total, 4.5 million cataract operations were performed in the EU. The Irish College of Ophthalmologists which represents more than 200 eye doctors, stated that there are not enough eye specialists employed in the Irish healthcare system. Deputy Danny Healy-Rae and I have been taking hundreds of people to Belfast in recent months. These are individuals who worked hard all their lives and who require access to an urgent, 15-minute procedure. They are being allowed to go blind by the State. Does the Taoiseach realise that those people from west Cork and Kerry are mainly in their 80s and 90s? How does he intend to stop the suffering of those people and resolve the crisis relating to the performance of cataract operations?

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