Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)

I do not know the exact details of the Deputy's constituent's case but for any child now indicated for surgery, the assessment is done in a very different way from how it happened before. Any such assessment is done by a multidisciplinary team, including a doctor. It is a cross-site piece of work including a physiotherapist assessment. It is not, as had been the case, that an individual consultant makes decisions in his or her own bubble. This is a multidisciplinary team. The Deputy's constituent or any Deputy's constituent who has a child indicated for surgery can, depending on the timing, get the assessment through the multidisciplinary team. It is very different from what was there before. I hope that will give her more confidence where she has questions relating to her child.

I agree with Deputy Clarke on counselling and psychological supports. Parents who take the advice of clinicians do so in the best interests of their child and now feel they have done something wrong in following that advice. It is a devastating thing to happen to a parent who is only trying to be a good parent and take the right decisions. They need support as much as their children do. I totally recognise that.

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