Rose Conway Walsh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Boyhan for mentioning the report on which Deputy Eoin Ó Broin was rapporteur. I commend that report to the House. There is very good stuff in it, which we will no doubt talk about in the coming weeks.

On the issue of pensions, while I welcome the changes in pensions that were announced yesterday, the issue brings home the stark reality of the inequality in this country. Something like €270 million was saved over six years by taking money from some pensioners' pockets. We can contrast that with the CEOs of some banks. These are the banks we have been dealing with on the tracker mortgage scandals and similar issues. There are individuals from those banks who have got away with pensions in excess of €600 million. When one compares that to the way that ordinary, decent pensioners are treated in this country, it gives people the answers they need about policies that are driving the inequality that is destroying our country.

I must raise the issue of Translarna. Five young children are left without a drug that is available in more than 20 countries throughout the world, many of which are in the EU. I thank the Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, for meeting Anne Marie and Padraig Harte, the parents of one of those boys, Lewis Harte, when he came to open the primary care centre in Castlebar. I appreciate his meeting them. Moreover, I appreciate the fact that after that meeting he met Muscular Dystrophy Ireland and the HSE to see if there was some way that an agreement could be reached between the drug company, PTC Therapeutics, and the HSE.

I am really dismayed that the HSE is ignoring the recommendations of the Minister. I have to ask to whom the HSE is accountable. What is the role of the Minister? Can he not instruct the HSE to carry out the simple task of arranging a meeting to discuss an important issue and something that will ensure a quality of life for five young boys in this country? I ask the Leader to arrange for the Minister for Health to come into the House and explain to us the accountability of the HSE. Is it just a monster, a body that is allowed to do what it likes and ignore the instructions of the Minister? These boys need this drug desperately. These families are facing a choice. Do they have to move out of this State to get the drug that is necessary for these children to stay mobile? It is wrong. It was wrong when I raised it last year and it is wrong now. Something needs to be done about it immediately. I would really appreciate it if the Leader could speak to the Minister in the meantime to see if he can instruct the personnel within the HSE to do what they need to do.