Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate that, when asked by my party leader, Deputy McDonald, to work together on an all-party approach to Brexit, the Taoiseach agreed. I firmly believe that this is the only way to approach Brexit. I hope the Taoiseach holds firmly to his commitment in that regard.

I want to raise some of the serious concerns some of my constituents and I have regarding healthcare in a post-Brexit society. I am sure the Minister of State is aware that over 6,000 people availed of the cross-Border directive in 2018 and this number has grown year on year. With over 6,000 patients on the cataract surgery waiting list in this State, the use of the cross-Border directive will finish on 1 January. I welcome the announcement to develop a cataract surgery unit at South Infirmary Victoria University Hospital. However, funding was only signed off on in September. We need a concrete timeline for when this unit will come into play. Operations will be stopped on 1 January so we need to know when this service will be up and running. The only issue I have with this facility is that it will only have the capacity to perform 2,000 surgeries a year. When there is a waiting list of 6,000 people with new people coming on the list every day, we are suggesting that a second facility or service should be put in place to share the workload.

We also have major issues with people who need hip and knee replacements. I know people who are trapped in their homes and unable to get out because they are not mobile and because of the pain and discomfort they are in. They are worried, along with others, about the potential loss of the ability to avail of the cross-Border directive. There were over 612,000 people waiting to see consultants in September 2020. This has increased over 500% in four years. Despite all the spin, the waiting times are going up year on year and this is not Covid-19 related. Many people have a fear that because of Brexit they will see the waiting times spiral out of control. We need a solution where a plan is put in place for people who have been living in pain and unnecessary discomfort for years. The thing about this is that sometimes we see figures and waiting times in lists but these are people. They are ordinary people and they include family members, mothers, fathers, sons and daughters. We need to put a plan in place to work for these people.

The major fear about Brexit that I am raising is that hospital waiting lists will place an additional burden on our already overburdened health service. I hope that, with this in mind, the Government will give a firm reassurance that healthcare will not be disrupted due to Brexit. We want to work together to put the necessary measures in place to prevent this from happening.

See this speech in context