Paul Gavan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

On behalf of Sinn Féin, I very much support this Bill from the Independent Group. It is both necessary and very welcome. It is encouraging to hear the responses from the Government side, which clearly acknowledge there is a major problem here that has not been tackled to date. It is to be hoped there will be consensus on the Bill. That would be very welcome.

The scandal of long waiting lists for children with scoliosis and spina bifida is a long-running tragedy. These children deserve better. As was referenced, seven years ago, the then Minister, Deputy Harris, promised that no child would be waiting longer than four months for surgery. The fact is more children are on scoliosis-related waiting lists now than when he gave that commitment. Three quarters of children are waiting longer than four months for orthopaedic surgeries. Parents and advocates want a comprehensive, transparent and structured programme of work to be carried out. This should be done through an independent task force that includes them and clinicians in its reporting process. The reference Senator McDowell made to the audit is very worrying. In February, on the audit, the Minister said, "This is not going to be a piece of work lasting several months." Yet, here we are several months later and he apparently still has no answers as to when that audit will be ready. That is just another symptom of the failure that we are all here to talk about it.

I do not intend to speak for very long on this because, frankly, it is too important an issue to try to score points on. It is a comprehensive failure by the Government that has been ongoing for several years. We need change. The key point about the Bill is it will hold the Government to account in a way that has not been done to date. In the time we have left, it would be very difficult for the Bill to make its way through all Stages but it has our full support. It should have the full support of everyone in the Chamber. It is to be hoped the Minister will acknowledge the lack of progress. Looking at the figures for January of last year, 284 children were on the waiting list. Some 18 months later, 246 children are on the waiting list. The facts speak for themselves. This Government simply has not delivered for the most vulnerable children desperately in need of these spinal surgeries. This is after four years of the Minister being in charge of this process. It is not good enough. It is a legacy of complete failure. Let us hope we see a change and that change will begin this evening with support for the Bill.