Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy O'Reilly again. I assure the Deputy that the Minister has met regularly the senior management of the HSE and Children's Health Ireland to discuss their short and long-term plans to provide a better service for patients and their families. Nobody wants to see children waiting on a hospital waiting list, particularly children with a severe illness such as scoliosis.

I am not too sure about some of the issues the Deputy has raised, for instance, children being hidden on adult waiting lists. I will have to inquire about that because I do not have any information on that. I assure the Deputy that I will convey her remarks to the Minister. I apologise again for his absence. I am sure the transcript of these proceedings will be made available tomorrow and I will bring it to his attention. I will request that the Minister take some Topical Issue matters in future, if possible, as that could help Members who have raised issues here on a number of occasions when the Minister has not been here to reply to them directly. I am given the written word and while I can intervene on some issues, I do not have answers to some of the questions asked. I do not know whether the Minister has answers but I will go back to him.

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