Maire Devine (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

As others have done, I begin by acknowledging the work done by Our Children's Health which has been at the forefront of this issue and has worked tirelessly to bring this question to the fore so that it gets the attention it deserves. It is a road to providing a first-class health system for all and I welcome it. Mobilising over 65,000 people to sign a petition in order to get medical cards for seriously ill children is no mean feat and I highly commend the tireless work of a campaign that is primarily run by three men on a voluntary basis - kudos to them. It is that type of activism, commitment and community duty that will change Ireland for the better.

I welcome this legislation, as I am sure all Members of this Chamber do. If enacted quickly and efficiently, this legislation will make a positive difference to many people in the Republic. Its primary purpose is for medical cards for children with domiciliary cards and the secondary purpose is for the lowering of prescription charges. Primarily, it is about the lives of children such as Louise, Isabella, Aoife and Laura, whose stories I read on Our Children's Health's website. Their struggle and their families' resilience in the face of unimaginable difficulties, coupled with the administrative hell, is beyond belief. I can barely imagine the reality of a very sick child where every day is filled with new challenges, heartache and worry. These brave and admirable parents have no respite. They care for their children out of love and their sheer armour of resilience that cannot be commended highly enough.

It cannot be the case that the weight of administration piles on their shoulders. When a child is sick a parent needs, and is desperate, to be at home with him or her rather than chasing forms and phoning departments chasing a card that would ensure care. We cannot and should not take that time away from them, therefore it is our obligation to ensure access to medical cards is granted easily and as quickly as possible for families.

The negative impact on families' mental health from waiting for access to services is well demonstrated when we meet people in constituencies. The families and parents are burned out. Members can imagine the burn out which I often talk about among the nursing staff within our chaotic system, but imagine the burn out from 24-7 care, without respite care and with continuous responsibility. I have seen the stress, the anguish and the tears of parents. People have come to me, have dumped big plastic bags filled with forms and have asked me to please figure it out for them as they have been on to departments trying to figure it out and beg for a medical card. They have told me that they cannot wait on the phone with no one responding, to try to access what is right for their child.

We cannot lump on the additional financial stress of the medical care and jumping through bureaucratic hoops. I am happy we can alleviate some of the financial barriers to medical services with medical cards but the HSE needs to confirm that this legislation and the process of accessing these cards will be quick and easy. There should be ample staff so that the families can have a one-stop-shop, a point of contact to apply to should they have any problem applying online. It should be quick and easy so that we steal no more time from them.

This brings me to a point to note. It is stated that these families will gain access to medical cards in June 2017, so that is in three months' time. Will there be any flexibility in the interim for those who so desperately need access to health care now? While two or three months may seem like a short amount of time, it is not to families struggling to navigate a health system and jump through hoops in order to receive health care for their beloved children. It is my belief, and that of my party, that all children on the island of Ireland should be valued. This should happen today; let us not wait until June.

I welcome this Bill as a move in the right direction we need to end the two-tier health system and move towards a system where every person - child, man or woman - who needs health care can avail of it. Every person deserves to live in a society that supports them and helps them in whatever way it can when they are sick, rather than in a State that tries to scour every penny from sick people who maybe too tired to fight for it.

This legislation is a start. At the very least, it grants medical cards to almost 10,000 children who deserve them. It is paramount that a public awareness campaign be launched so that every one of those families does not have to search for information regarding their medical cards. It is of upmost importance that this legislation be introduced with the necessary resources and personnel so that there is minimal to no time waiting for families. Time is more precious than we know in these circumstances. We need to do everything not to take any time away for unnecessary bureaucracy and red tape. I echo the questions posed by other Senators. What happens a child after he or she reaches 16 years of age? What are the plans then?

I concur with Senator Colm Burke's point that the overall aim should be to reduce the prescription, and the use and perhaps abuse, of medications in this country. We need to look to training GPs, public health nurses and front-line workers. It has been done very successfully in the prison system here where benzodiazepines are no longer prescribed or tolerated. It has become accepted and they are no longer used. We need to work towards that as a society.