Ivana Bacik (Dublin Bay South, Labour) | Oireachtas source

All of us will want to send our thoughts and sympathies to the families of the four-year-old child in north Dublin and the five-year-old child in Belfast who died from strep A in recent days. All of us will be thinking of their families, communities and young classmates who have suffered such devastating news of this terrible loss. There are huge levels of fear, particularly among parents and families of young children, at the rising rate of viral infections in the community and at the HSE communication asking for children with signs of illness to be kept at home. We are all conscious that our children's hospitals are under extreme pressure. On Wednesday, they were at critical capacity with so many presenting to emergency departments. It is vital that we see the urgent roll-out of free GP care to six- and seven-year-olds and the phased expansion to children aged 12 and under, as was promised in the Government's budget. We welcomed that announcement, although we in the Labour Party felt it should have gone further. At such a crucial and concerning time, we ask that the roll-out be continued apace. Can the Tánaiste give a deadline for it?

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