Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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Question 272: To ask the Minister for Health and Children if her attention has been drawn to the fact that waiting lists have escalated to over a year for male circumcisions in a number of hospitals, that the hospitals which currently have a waiting list of more than twelve months include the Children's University Hospital, Temple Street, Dublin, Waterford Regional Hospital, Kerry General Hospital, Cork University Hospital, Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda and Tallaght Hospital Dublin and that, in particular, Temple Street has the longest waiting list with in excess of 410 waiting for the procedure, 291 for cultural reasons and 120 on clinical grounds; her views on the fact that a report from her Department in 2006 recommended that cultural male circumcisions should be provided by the health service as a matter of policy following on the death of a Nigerian baby in Waterford in 2004 as a result of a botched amateur circumcision; and if she will take the necessary action to have this issue addressed in the interest of the health and welfare of children. [35606/08]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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Male circumcision is provided for both cultural and medical reasons. In 2004, my predecessor as Minister for Health and Children established the Advisory Group on Cultural Male Circumcision with the following terms of reference:

To establish the cultural needs for male circumcision;

To address ethical considerations with particular respect to the welfare of children;

To make recommendations on timing and procedures to be followed in the event of male circumcision being considered appropriate; and

To recommend procedures for health care personnel to be followed, following detection of circumcision being performed in a non-health care setting.

The Advisory Group reported in 2005. I endorsed the findings of its Report, including the main recommendation that cultural male circumcision should be made more widely available in Irish hospitals, and requested the Health Service Executive to arrange to implement the recommendations relevant to its statutory remit.

The HSE and the National Treatment Purchase Fund have been collaborating to address the issue of long waiting times for surgical procedures, including those for male circumcision in Temple Street Hospital. My Department has asked the HSE and the NTPF to work together in relation to this issue.