Taoiseach gets tackled by McDonald on his pledge for scoliosis waiting lists

Tough questions at his first Leaders’ Questions in Dáil

Treatment abroad options are being considered for child spinal cases, the Taoiseach has told the Dáil.

Simon Harris was responding to Sinn Féin, who brought up a past promise he made, as he took his first Leaders’ Questions in the chamber as Taoiseach.

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald reminded Mr Harris that he had promised, as health minister in 2017, that no child with scoliosis would wait longer than 12 months for corrective surgery.

But Ms McDonald said the current situation was that 4,000 such children were awaiting their first medical consultation. A total of 270 were on the surgery list, of whom 78 were waiting for longer than the four months Mr Harris had promised seven years ago.

“The most desperate, in many cases, have had the longest wait,” she said.

Mr Harris said the four-month maximum waiting time was said to him by the HSE at the time, and remained the clinical advice now. “By placing that focus on scoliosis, we saw a very significant reduction in children waiting four months. It was real. It was felt,” he said.

But the Covid pandemic happened and had effects in many areas, including scoliosis. He said there had been 509 child spinal operations in 2022, compared to 380 in 2019, which was a 34pc increase. A further 22pc increase took last year, he said, and so far this year there had been over 120 spinal procedures.

Ms McDonald said, however, that she had met the families of scoliosis sufferers yesterday and they were hurt, angry and felt betrayed.

There was a 19-year-old adult who had been told to “wait and wait and wait” as a child and whose curvature was now inoperable. “Words and rhetoric are of no good to them,” she said, adding that there was pain and agony today because the Government was not living up to the four-month promise.

In scoliosis the spine twists and curves, she said, and “can cause the ribcage to press against the lungs and internal organs, making it increasingly difficult to breathe”.

“It’s especially tough on young children, where the child doesn’t get the surgeries that they need on time. The consequences are devastating. The longer they wait, the more complex procedures they will eventually need,” said Ms McDonald.

“And without timely care, children end up in wheelchairs. Some children run out of time. Too many children and their parents face this agonising wait.”

Mr Harris said Health Minister Stephen Donnelly “has been putting a real focus on this issue”.

“We now have the paediatric spinal surgery management unit in place. This is an issue which will continue to receive extraordinary levels of care, investment and attention from Government.”

Also in the Dáil yesterday, the Taoiseach denied that the appointment of ministers on the basis of geography can lead to parish-pump politics.

Social Democrats TD Róisín Shortall said Mr Harris had made people ministers because of geography, which could give rise to the perception that having ministerial office is more about delivering goodies for your own constituency than considering the public good.

Mr Harris replied: “I can assure you I appointed people to both Cabinet and as ministers of state based on their ability.”

However, he added that leaders and taoisigh consider a variety of issues, including gender and geography.

“I think geography does have an important role to play in politics. It’s not all just the greater Dublin area.

“And I think that having different perspectives brought to the Cabinet table for decision-making tables is important,” he said.