Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I, too, support this motion. It is a terribly sad situation. I issue a fíorfháilte do na daoine óga is aosta sa Ghailearaí freisin. I welcome the people to the Gallery. They should not have to come here but, unfortunately, in this country, especially with health, while so many good things happen, which we acknowledge, in this area of scoliosis and, indeed, urology, it beggars belief. When I was first elected to the House, and it was a privilege, in 2007, I think the budget for the HSE and the Department of Health was around €7 billion or €8 billion. It is now €24 billion and is growing. These situations are completely intolerable.

My late brother was a paediatrician of some renown, God rest him. A wonderful lady, Clodagh Sweeney, took pen to paper and wrote about her little daughter Keri who was born with huge difficulties and went all through life like that. My brother happened to be her paediatrician. Clodagh contacted me about two years ago and said that my late brother had asked her before he died that she should write a book about her story. She did and spent hours, weeks and years of research on a wonderful story, and I was privileged to launch that leabhar or book in Cluain Meala two weeks ago. It tells the story of her battles with the HSE, of her very sick child, of having to battle for everything, and of having been dismissed by so many medical people. It acknowledges there were good people along the way but she had to fight a massive court battle to get recognition for her child.

The child then developed scoliosis, as if she had not been sick enough. It was the same story. She had the operation after awful battles, but then she outgrew the procedure and the steel rod came out through a hole in her back. This is a telling and truly awful story. Clodagh Sweeney put this story to paper and it is a wonderful story. It tells of how the surgeon here would not redo the operation and would not allow her to go or recommend in a letter for her to go to England. This was horrific. I know this happened to a minority of people but it is just disgusting. I salute Clodagh Sweeney, and God rest her daughter who died at the age of 16 in 2014. There was such support in the community, from her family, her mother and the child’s little sister. It is a wonderful story and I invite anyone to get the book to read about the battles the HSE legal teams put in front of ordinary people when they are fighting for justice for their families. It beggars belief that the State would allow legal teams to force a mother like that with such a sick child in that way.

God rest the child and I hope she is in heaven now with the angel,s and I know she is after all her suffering. This woman is an inspiration but the way she had to battle to get her child looked after and the stories she has written about in her book would bring tears to a stone. The worst part was that when the operation failed and the bar that was put in place gave in, the surgeon knew the position. Clodagh Sweeney says it was ego that would not allow him to admit he had made a mistake and the operation had gone wrong. Is mór an trua an rud sin.

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