Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for the question. I acknowledge that the waiting lists for these children are simply too long and that while more capacity is being is being added and more surgeries are being done, there are a number of children for whom the wait is simply unacceptable.

In 2022, I asked Children's Health Ireland to come up with a comprehensive plan that would mean that of the children who are scheduled and actively waiting for surgery, no child would be waiting more than four months. CHI devised a plan and I funded it to the tune of €19 million. The assurance I was given was that by the end of 2022, no child would be waiting more than four months. Unfortunately, that plan clearly did not work.

I intervened again in 2023. I went and I met privately with the surgeons and asked them what they believed needed to be done. What they said ultimately was required was to establish a dedicated spinal service. They referenced places such as Stockholm where the services are ring-fenced, including the theatres, specialist nurses and anaesthetists, specialist wards, intensive care units, high-dependency units, health and social care professionals and specialist ward nurses. That is exactly what we are transitioning to.

I have allocated more funding this year. Very significant capacity is in place now. We funded a fifth operating theatre and a second MRI facility. More than 200 healthcare professionals had been hired by CHI under the €19 million.

I had a meeting only yesterday with Dr. David Moore, who is heading up the service and is one of the spinal surgeons, with my Secretary General, the regional executive officer, the chief executive of CHI and the chief executive of the HSE to make it clear that everything that can conceivably be done to accelerate this dedicated spinal unit must be done. I made it clear that the view, not only of the Government but all of us in the Oireachtas, is that we must get to a point where no child waits more than four months.

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