Brian Stanley (Laois-Offaly, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I will raise the issue of the provision of universal healthcare and the commitment in the programme for Government. The diabetic clinic in Portlaoise has 7,000 people with diabetes registered from the catchment area of Laois, south Kildare, Offaly, north Tipperary and County Laois. The insulin pump service is available for children and adolescents only and not adults. When people reach the age of 18, they have to go to Dublin and go private at more than €500 a pop. That is the only option.

There is no dietician for the adult insulin pump services, which means there are no such services. The clinic is doing great work and hospital management want to develop it, but it cannot provide a full service. Hospital management has made the case three times for funding up to January this year and continues to make the case. On 2 December, the Minister informed me that the appointment of a senior dietician to support the continued development of the services has been identified and is currently being considered. This is after years of delay. The heads of the hospital group are delaying this. This is what is happening because I have been digging into it to find out what the real problem is. The Minister needs to catch this because in the long term, this costs money-----

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