Michael Finucane (Fine Gael)

I support Senator Leyden's first point on the register of electors. We had a comprehensive discussion on it and various suggestions were put forward at the time. I regret the difficulty experienced by a number of people, many of whom are graduates, in finding summer jobs. They could have been deployed during the summer time to update the register of electors by calling to houses from 6 p.m. until 9 p.m. when people are at home. No doubt they would have done a good job but that suggestion has not been taken up. I understand the census enumerators may be deployed subsequently to do this work.

Senator Leyden is correct. Somebody should inform us about what is happening, as we have all heard an election is imminent next year and any of us who have looked at the register of electors in recent times have been amazed at how out of date the information is and the level of duplication, etc. This issue must be tackled.

Recently Professor Drumm of the Health Service Executive gave a comprehensive description of what is happening within the HSE. He also provided details of the orthodontic lists. The Leader may recall that I recently raised in this House the situation of people waiting for orthodontic treatment. In many areas, such as the area I represent, there is a considerable waiting list.

It is difficult enough to be classified as suitable for orthodontic treatment as one must fulfil certain criteria. Having determined one's eligibility, one is accorded category A or category B status. Having made the grade and been assigned to category B, one would expect to be called for treatment within a short time. However, once the classification process has been completed, the average waiting time in my area is two and a half years, which is too long. As a result, many people are only receiving orthodontic treatment when they are 15 or 16 years old and some are even as old as 17. People should be receiving this treatment at a younger age as it is too late when they are past their formative stage of development.

I previously asked the Leader to investigate if treatment could be provided under the National Treatment Purchase Fund but I am not sure if she had an opportunity to do so. We must do something about the waiting lists for orthodontic treatment. People in category B who are waiting a considerable period of time should be allowed to avail of the national treatment purchase fund. One is eligible for it if one is over six months on a waiting list for a hip or knee operation.