Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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I understand Deputies Cullinane and Ward are sharing time.

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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I move:

That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to amend and extend the Health Act 2004 and for that purpose to provide for the conferral of additional functions on the Minister for Health in relation to setting of priorities and performance targets by that Minister in relation to maximum waiting times for health and personal social services; to amend the National Treatment Purchase Fund Board (Establishment) Order 2004 to provide for additional reporting, revised corporate governance and accountability arrangements; and to provide for related matters.

This important Bill will ensure we have greater transparency in relation to health waiting lists. As the Minister of State knows, the National Treatment Purchase Fund publishes on the third Friday of every month acute hospital waiting lists and some diagnostic waiting lists. However, the NTPF does not publish the waiting lists in many other areas of healthcare, including community care, diagnostics and mental health. Not only do we not publish those lists, but we do not know how long people are waiting in many other parts of the healthcare system or how many are on the lists because we do not compile them and there is no data. At an Oireachtas health committee session a number of months ago, I asked the Minister for Health and the head of the HSE for the total number of patients across all health waiting lists.

The Minister said he had not been given an answer yet because in some areas, data is not collected.

What I want to see - this is provided for in the Bill - is much greater transparency. The first thing we have to do is empower the Minister and the NTPF to publish all waiting lists. There is no reason why Oireachtas Members should have to table parliamentary questions every month to get updates on community waiting lists, mental health waiting lists or waiting lists relating to disability services. If they are HSE- or health-related waiting lists, they should all be published, as should the acute hospital waiting lists. That is the first thing the Bill does.

Second, the Bill provides for much greater accountability and transparency in relation to setting targets, as well as how we achieve the targets that are set. As we know, the NTPF is not accountable to the Dáil. Oireachtas committees cannot bring it in for questioning. That makes no sense. I hope to be Minister for Health at some point. That may or may not happen. If I were to be Minister, I would not be afraid of accountability or transparency. If I was Minister for Health, I would have no problem with the NTPF coming in and answering hard questions about the management of waiting lists, just like we have to do, because that is its statutory responsibility. The Bill provides for an accounting mechanism that would lead to matters being referred back to the Dáil, the Seanad and the Oireachtas health committee.

For all those reasons, we have tabled this Bill. Its purpose is to ensure that all waiting lists are published, that there are greater levels of transparency and that the NTPF can be properly accountable to the Houses of the Oireachtas and their committees.

Mark Ward (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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Parents of children with disabilities who are being failed by the public system should automatically be able to avail of private treatment for their children at the State's expense. Parents of children with disabilities who are waiting for assessments of need currently face extraordinarily long waiting times. While waiting for these assessments, children are often failing to reach their developmental milestones. Some parents get private assessments, often at great personal expense. I am aware of parents in my own area who were before the Oireachtas committee and who had to access food banks in order to make ends meet at the end of the week because they have to pay privately for their children's treatment. I am also aware of other parents who simply do not have the ability to pay for private assessments.

Under the Disability Act, a child should receive a comprehensive assessment of need within six months of referral. The Government broke the law when it introduced the preliminary team assessments. This was ruled on by the High Court. As a result of the Government breaking the law, there has been an increase in the total number of applications for assessments of need that are overdue for completion. The figure now stands at 8,893. That is nearly 9,000 children who have not received their comprehensive assessments of need in the six-month statutory timeframe. At the very least, these children should be automatically allowed to pursue this assessment through the national treatment purchase fund. The response I received from the HSE on this matter states:

At present, the HSE does not fund or reimburse any fees paid to private practitioners where assessments, interventions or therapies have been commissioned by the service user or their family directly.

Parents who have to access food banks have no recourse. Parents of children with disabilities have no recourse when taking out personal loans to pay for the treatment of their child when they should by right receive it under the law. At the very least, the Government should provide the very children they have already failed by breaching the terms of the Disability Act with access to the NTPF.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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Is the Bill opposed?

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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No.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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Since this is a Private Members' Bill, Second Stage must, under Standing Orders, be taken in Private Members' time.

David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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I move: "That the Bill be taken in Private Members' time."