Mary Ann O'Brien (Independent)

Okay. This little boy was born with a hole in his heart, a chronic lung problem and a brain bleed at birth which left him suffering from quadriplegic cerebral palsy. He is profoundly deaf, cannot swallow and is unable to speak. The Jack and Jill Children's Foundation should have finished caring for him in September, but we are continuing to care for him because we cannot get the HSE to interact with his family regardless of how often his family has written to it.

I bring the House's attention to a letter that the HSE wrote to the child's family this week. One paragraph in particular is mind-boggling. The HSE stated that finding a way to operate within the level of available resources while still meeting the needs of families was the task that the HSE and the foundation were required to address in collaboration with each other. The HSE also reiterated that neither this service nor any other disability service was demand-led and that, in the current economic climate, it was imperative that all services operate within their allocations. If the health system is not demand-led, what is it exactly? The only conclusion I can draw from the statement is that a senior HSE official has committed to paper that the organisation's current culture and systems are fixed and rigid.

Will the Leader invite the Minister for Health to the House as a matter of urgency to explain to us whether it is the Minister's opinion that the HSE is not demand-led and why the needs of the boy in question are being neglected by the State? The seriousness of the case cannot be underestimated, as I have just learned that the Ombudsman for Children has appointed an investigative team to examine it. It is great news for the family, but it should never have come to this.