Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this important and sensitive issue. In Ireland in the round, we have really good palliative care provided by some really top-class professionals. End-of-life care has improved considerably down the years, including our hospices, hospice home care and paediatric palliative care, particularly with the State funding of the LauraLynn hospice, which I was involved in trying to make happen when I was Minister for Health. It is really important that people should be allowed to die with dignity. It makes such a difference for them to be able to spend their last couple of weeks in a hospice or better still at home receiving the hospice care they need. It makes a huge difference to families. It provides enormous piece of mind both in terms of the experience when somebody passes on but also thereafter. This is particularly acute for the parents of children who are terminally ill. I cannot imagine what it is like to go through the experience of losing a child long before their time.

There is something wrong here. I am not sure what it is and I will take an interest in it. I have read about the case in Wexford; I think Fiadh is her name. It is wrong and very sad that anyone should feel that they have to go public or explain very private and personal circumstances regarding the death of a child in that way to get the package they should have got sooner.

I do not think the problem relates to political will by anyone in this House. I do not think the problem is with money because thankfully we are in a position where the Government has money and a budget surplus. The issue may relate to the inability to get staff. I really do not know what the problem is, but it is a problem and I acknowledge it. I am aware of another case that I am trying to deal with at the moment in the Wicklow area, so it may not be just in the south east. Certainly, the political will is there to fix it. I guarantee that the money is there. I will convene a meeting in the Department of the Taoiseach, involving the Minister for Health and HSE to get a proper overview of paediatric palliative care services, find out what the problem is and then we will fix it.

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