Peter Cleere (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

First of all, I congratulate the victorious Kilkenny minor camogie team on winning the all-Ireland on Sunday, a fantastic achievement. I pay tribute to all the players, the panel, the backroom team, the management, the executive and, in particular, all the parents who go above and beyond in travelling and bringing their children around the country. To get that reward is fantastic, and the whole of Kilkenny is very proud of them, so massive comhghairdeas to all involved.

I welcome the opportunity for statements on Children's Health Ireland. The findings of the recent report are very serious. The Taoiseach has already expressed how horrified and appalled we all are by what has happened to the children involved, but it is extremely hard to comprehend what has happened. The use in children of non-surgical springs which were not clinically approved was wrong and should never have happened. HIQA, as we all know, found that the controls in place within CHI did not provide the necessary or adequate safeguards at every single stage of the process and, as a result, children were not protected from harm. The Government must commit to implement the HIQA report. Children's Health Ireland has advised that a quality improvement plan is in place to address the recommendations made in the report. As of the end of March, however, there were 137 children on CHI's active waiting list, 67 of whom were waiting over four months. That is way too many and it is something that needs to be addressed immediately.

As we all know, improving children's health involves a combination of good practices, education and community support. Healthy eating is really important. I welcome the roll-out of the school meals programme and the schools that have been added, many in my constituency of Carlow-Kilkenny. I particularly look forward to seeing the improving nutritional composition of meals going forward. That is to be welcomed right across the country.

We all know that regular physical activity is so important and we need to promote at least 60 minutes of physical activity daily. We should encourage our children to engage in fun activities such as playing sports, dancing and biking to develop a love for movement. It is all about participation. There is a specific item in the programme for Government to increase participation among our young people in sport. I spoke recently about the importance of participation in sport. Yes, we need to cater for our elite athletes - I am 100% for that - but we have to encourage participation. We have to participate in sport for enjoyment, not just winning. It is really important. Often, when parents come home and their child has had a match, the first question they ask is, "Did you win?" As a country, we need to change the whole narrative as to how we look at participation in sport. The question should be: "Did you enjoy it?" We have to do that as a country and we need to lead from the front on that.

We need to ensure that our children get sufficient sleep according to their age group. There are huge issues with our younger people and their accessibility to mobile phones and tablets. That age is crucial for their development.

As regards routine health checkups, we need as a Government to ensure regular visits on time and on schedule to all healthcare providers for checkups, vaccinations and screenings. They are essential for monitoring health and preventing illnesses.

This leads me nicely on to mental health support. We need to continue to foster open communication about feelings and emotions. We need to provide additional resources and support for mental health, including counselling, if needed, for our younger people. I will give the House an example. In St. Luke's hospital in Kilkenny, a fantastic hospital, any child who is in there who has type 1 diabetes does not have any access to any sort of counselling or psychiatric help at all. The diagnosis of something like that is absolutely massive and life-changing, yet those services are not there. That is one small example where we could do something very quickly to make a difference to those children and their families.

I mentioned earlier the importance of screen time and limiting it. As a country and a Government, we need to establish guidelines for screen time. Obviously, we need to encourage our children to engage in more interactive, outdoor and creative activities. Some 1.3 billion children in the world have access to a smartphone. That is a huge number, and we need to make sure we are involved in that as we go along.

Most importantly, we need to involve the community. We need to encourage community programmes that focus on children's health such as nutritional workshops and health education initiatives in schools, but in particular sport leagues. I want to talk briefly about the possibility of the changing to calendar soccer in Ireland. I have four daughters. They all play with Highview Athletic in Graiguenamanagh and they absolutely love it. They love playing their camogie as well. The under-12 team had their last match of the year last night. They are a fantastic group of girls. There are 19 on the panel. They were asked, if they had to choose between soccer and camogie, what they would do. Seventeen of the 19 said they would pick camogie ahead of soccer. At the moment, the two coexist beautifully. They are able to play their soccer and their sport in the summer and in the winter and it is fantastic. We need to protect our younger people and give them the opportunity of not putting one against the other. They should be able to coexist. It is really important. I call on each county to decide what is best for the younger people in its area because our younger people should not have to choose one sport over another. There should be participation for all at all levels.

I genuinely believe that CHI is dedicated to providing high-quality healthcare services to children and young people across Ireland. It offers a wide range of specialised services, including paediatric surgery, emergency care and outpatient services, but we need to make sure that our children, our State's children, can get quicker access and that when they do come into care, it is safe. All every parent wants for his or her children is for them to be safe and protected. When you entrust your child into the system, you need to make sure that that child will be looked after with the best medical practices that are there at any moment in time.

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