Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his reply. The problem is that children with scoliosis and their families have heard all these assurances previously. As I said, in 2016 they were told that no child would wait for more than four months for treatment. It is frankly disgusting that in a country as wealthy as Ireland we have children who are effectively being tortured like this. The curve in Ivy's spine increased by more than 100 degrees over the time she was waiting for surgery. It is almost impossible to imagine that kind of trauma being inflicted on a child and Ivy is not alone. There are children throughout the country who are in pain now waiting for surgery. They are missing school and missing out on socialising with their friends. Childhoods are fleeting and their childhoods are passing them by. They do not know when they will get surgery and they desperately need it now.

Scoliosis Ireland does very important work for these children and their families. They are not just worried about their physical health in these scenarios, but are also worried about their mental health. The mental health supports for these children who suffer terribly are almost non-existent. While I hope these assurances will be kept and all the things the Minister mentioned will be worked on, what assurances can he give parents that their children's mental health in the interim will be looked after? Will he ask the Minister for Health to take extra measures to provide mental health support?

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