Joe Flaherty (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Acting Chairman but there has been one change to the line-up; I will be sharing with my colleagues, Deputies Devlin and McAuliffe. I commend our new Minister for Health and wish him the very best in his new role. I would be remiss if I did not single out the immense personal contribution of his predecessor, Deputy Harris, in the battle against Covid-19.

The challenges in the area of health are many, deeply pressing, and all the more pronounced as a result of the budget challenges outlined here today. There is probably not one aspect of the health service that is not challenged. What is more frustrating for us as new Deputies is the level of tolerance for this. It seems that it is expected and accepted that there will be an inordinate waiting list and delays for everything. In the case of home help, one is expected to be grateful for the minuscule offering for which one may qualify.

I believe in the new Minister's enthusiasm and energy for the challenges ahead, which include Covid, cancer, Sláintecare, consultants' contracts, the disability sector, and the mental health crisis. All of these challenges will loom large for him.

I welcome the commitment he made earlier to the area of orthodontics. In recent weeks, I submitted a parliamentary question about a young teenage boy from County Longford. After waiting one year for a referral from his local health clinic in Longford town, which incidentally no longer treats or assesses young children for dental care, he was seen by a HSE orthodontist who confirmed that he was eligible for orthodontic work under category 4D. He was duly referred to the orthodontic services in Tullamore more than three years ago. There are still children on that waiting list who have been on it since January 2013. At this rate, it will be another four years before this young boy receives treatment. If it continues at this pace, it will have been almost eight years since he first engaged with the service when he receives the necessary treatment. That is eight years of waiting for a young boy who is in pain, who is suffering discomfort and who is deeply self-conscious about his teeth. That is not the health service we want and deserve. In the HSE's response to my parliamentary question, I was told that, as he was in category 4D, this young boy did not have a high clinical need and would have a long wait for services due to the long-standing deficit in availability of trained staff.

Throughout the Covid pandemic, we have seen that there is no shortage of Irish medics ready to return home and fight the fight. They include a paramedic who left all behind him in Papua New Guinea to come home to Longford and fight the fight against Covid. He has, however, spent the past few months sitting at home on the couch twiddling his thumbs because only a handful of those who volunteered have been mobilised to fight the good fight for the health of the Irish people.

The Minister will be in no doubt that he has a tough task ahead but he will have the absolute and fervent support of all in this House in his endeavours. I appeal to him to ensure that the success stories of his tenure in office will include a successful outcome for that 15 year old boy in Longford and the many others who are desperately waiting for orthodontic treatment.

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