Emer Currie (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for coming here today to listen to the debate on my party's motion. The shock is obvious. The distress is obvious. There has been a lot of focus already on the review, the need for it and the need for answers and swift action. I suppose I will focus primarily on the parents who are out there waiting for surgeries at present and are in a very dark place. They have come to me to ask the Minister today for an update and for him to outline him what his plan is in relation to the second half of this motion, namely, that the HSE "takes urgent action to make alternative arrangements to ensure children are not left waiting further for urgent surgeries".

One constituent of mine has a daughter who is three years of age. She was born with congenital scoliosis and congenital heart defects. They were put on a semi-urgent list over seven months ago. In three years, the curvature of her spine, which is now at 65°, worsened by 25°, that is, approximately 8° per year. The communication that they get is not where it should be. They cannot get an answer on when they can even expect surgery. This is traumatising for everybody involved. It is also traumatising for those families who desperately need treatment for their children. One of the questions they have asked is why the number of spinal procedures are not increasing with the number of children on waiting lists and what impact the review relating to Temple Street will have.

What is the position in respect of the €19 million investment that was made by the HSE in 2022? Can the Minister provide an update on that budget, where it stands and if he thinks it is effective? I ask because we made a promise that no child would wait longer than four months and we must stand over that. While my other colleagues will focus on the rightful shock that this matter has caused, I want the Minister to single out the parents who are in the dark at present and give them some answers.