Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I wish to raise two issues. I have just come from a demonstration outside Leinster House by parents whose children suffer from spinal muscular atrophy. It does not affect many children but those who it does are severely affected. As the Leader will know, I am raising the issue of Spinraza. There was a devastating announcement this week that the HSE has decided not to proceed with allowing Spinraza to be readily available. One would have to have a heart of stone not to be affected by the stories of the parents who gathered outside this morning. They told of the effects Spinraza can have and the fact that 25 of 28 European Union countries have made Spinraza available for children who require it. Only Ireland, the UK and Estonia have not done so. If children such as Grace O'Malley from Mayo or Sam Bailey from Dublin - I know Sam's family quite well - lived in any country other than Ireland, the UK or Estonia, they might have a better quality of life. I do not believe anybody in the Government has a heart of stone. I hope the announcement this week is just a blip on the road rather than a full stop. Members across the House have raised the issue of Spinraza in recent months and years. I ask that the Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, come to the House to address the availability of this drug. In fairness, I do not think anybody in government wants to see children suffer. I know everybody in politics wants to do their best. However, there was a sense that things were slowly progressing to a point when Spinraza would be made available, but that seems to have come to a shuddering halt. On that basis, I ask the Leader to facilitate a debate with the Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, or the Minister of State with responsibility for disability in regard to Spinraza.

I note with alarm the issue of the discharge from the sewage treatment plant in Ringsend last weekend. I note it with alarm because it only came to public awareness as a result of a drone taking a photograph of the leakage. It raises concerns for me regarding the sewage treatment plant which is planned for the Clonshaugh area.If that is the type of issue that takes place in a sewage treatment plant, what can the residents in Clonshaugh expect if and when this plant is built? It is only a proposal. It has not been finalised. I believe the plan should be scrapped and that the land should be used for housing because it is a greater need. The Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment should come to the House to explain how this fault happened, the reasons that it was not reported immediately and that it took a number of days for communications from different agencies to take place; to allay the fears of Dubliners about that plant; and to justify why residents in Clonshaugh should feel any less worried about the proposal to build a water treatment plant there, which I believe is the wrong place and should be used for different ends.