On Monday, the Ombudsman for Children, Dr. Muldoon, issued a report that is a damning indictment of the Government. His report dealt with those children who are awaiting scoliosis surgery. As the Taoiseach well knows, in some cases children living in absolute agony are waiting up to a year and a half for vital treatment. Dr. Muldoon's report highlights the reality that children with scoliosis suffer what he calls severe physical and psychological effects due to these delays. Anybody paying attention to the media over recent weeks would have heard and read the overwhelming and heartbreaking personal stories of some of these children and young people forced to wait for surgeries which could change their lives. I am sure every parent and person is horrified by these stories.

Yesterday the Irish Examiner carried the story of Jane who, after a very long wait, eventually got her surgery after travelling to England. Her words are powerful. Jane wrote and reflected:

I was just so relieved to have the operation done but now, looking back, it's annoying and makes me angry. My operation could have been so much simpler and better. I wouldn't have been out of school for months afterwards. I wouldn't have been in hospital as long.

Jane is just one of very many cases. I am sure the Taoiseach would agree that no child or young person should go through what Jane went through. No child or young person should have to feel what Jane feels. The Ombudsman is damning in his assessment of the Government's failure to address the issue of access to scoliosis surgery for children. This is nothing short of a national disgrace. As Dr. Muldoon rightly reflects, this should not be happening in Ireland in 2017. It seems the Taoiseach, the Government and the Minister for Health are quite happy to preside over the chaos that is in our health system and these children and young people pay the price for this chaos every day of their lives.

Does the Taoiseach recognise the scale of the suffering inflicted on these children and their families? Does he accept the assessment of the Ombudsman for Children in respect of the Government's failure to uphold the rights of these children?

I thank Deputy McDonald. The Minister, Deputy Harris, welcomed the report published by the Ombudsman for Children which highlighted the need for significant improvements to be achieved in waiting times for scoliosis procedures for children and teenagers in this country. Nobody can justify a child having to go through these difficulties and challenges and this pain. I understand the children's hospital group board and the Office of the Ombudsman for Children have developed a joint initiative based on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child to listen to the voices of children and young people using services in three hospitals in Dublin which will be rolled out this year. Improvement in scoliosis services is absolutely a priority for the Minister, the Government and the HSE in 2017.

I welcome the fact the HSE has committed that no child such as Jane or others will wait longer than four months for such a procedure by the end of this year. This will bring Ireland into line with NHS waiting times in the United Kingdom. As requested by the Minister for Health, the paediatric scoliosis waiting list action plan for 2017 has been jointly developed by the HSE and the children's hospital group. Engagement continues between the Department and the HSE towards finalising this plan. As part of the new proposal to address the scoliosis waiting list a number of children have been identified as clinically appropriate to have their scoliosis surgery in other hospitals, such as the Mater, Cappagh and Temple Street.

The Minister will meet again with the scoliosis advocacy group in the coming weeks to update them on that progress.

An additional €2 million in additional resources was allocated for scoliosis and other orthopaedic service developments this year. A further €5 million of capital funding was provided to develop a new laminar flow orthopaedic theatre and there were difficulties in recruiting staff for this additional theatre. The service development funding was used to outsource patients with scoliosis for their surgery there during the 2015 to 2016 period. Additional funding provided in 2015 facilitated 105 patients to have their treatment provided in an alternative public or private hospital. Some 15 paediatric scoliosis patients who were waiting 18 months and over for treatment were facilitated to have their surgery in the Blackrock Clinic as part of the winter initiative in 2016. In addition, the Department of Health provided another €350,000 directly to the children's hospital group for a further nine patients from Our Lady's Children's Hospital in Crumlin to have surgery in the Blackrock Clinic. Further, 34 adolescent or young adult patients from Tallaght were clinically reviewed, treated, and planned care was put in place for them at the Mater hospital.

Our Lady's Children's Hospital has also advised that the additional funding received in 2016 will facilitate a further 30 spinal fusion surgeries to be carried out there in 2017, which will be a total of 88 spinal fusions by the end of this year compared to 58 carried out in 2016. As well as an increase in the numbers of scoliosis surgeries being carried out at Our Lady's Children's Hospital and the Mater, Cappagh and Temple Street, they are all working together to develop immediate and sustainable solutions to increase capacity to address the current waiting list at Crumlin. This will include transition of children over 15 years of age to the Mater hospital and under 15 years of age as appropriate to either Temple Street or Cappagh hospital to have their scoliosis surgery in 2017. These things and the ombudsman's report have led to a significant improvement in dealing with children and young adults who have this enormous challenge and the frustration and pain that they have had to put up with.

The Taoiseach's response, far from reflecting a level of priority or a thought-out strategy for dealing with these children and young people, reflects rather the chaotic nature of his Government and the very reason why he failed to get to grips with this problem. This is not a new issue. I and others have raised the issue of children and young people awaiting scoliosis surgery many times here. I remember on one occasion, having raised it, I was accused by the then Tánaiste, Deputy Joan Burton, of ranting. That was back in January 2016. Whether I was ranting or not is a matter of opinion but what is for sure is that I stand here now, towards the end of March 2017, and we are still faced with the same problem.

The Taoiseach did not mention the new orthopaedic ward in Crumlin in his response.

I did.

Will it be up and fully operational in April? The initial promise was that this would happen in April 2016. April 2016 becomes April 2017, and my worry is that then becomes April 2018, and all the while these children suffer and wait. A confused approach like that where the Taoiseach gives an emergency response to the ombudsman's report is not sufficient. He needs to tell us now exactly when the necessary amounts of funding will be applied, when that ward will open in Crumlin, and he needs to tell these children and young people and their parents when it is that they will have their surgery, because they have waited a long time and suffered a great deal.

The Deputy is certainly in the top league of Deputies in putting forward the problems that we have. I have never heard the Deputy give one solution or potential solution-----

Open wards.

-----to any of these problems.

The Taoiseach is clearly not listening.

Open wards.

In her eloquent remarks Deputy McDonald never referred to any of the 88 children and young adults who are going to have their scoliosis operations carried out this year and the treatment that they are going to get, to the highest level. It seems that they do not interest the Deputy. She is only interested in the usual political problems. The extra capacity will be available in that theatre that she mentioned in April of this year----

I did not hear that.

The Deputy did not miss much.

The microphone is on. The Deputy should listen carefully.

The Taoiseach needs to enunciate a bit more clearly.

Decisions about acceptance of patients by these hospitals will be made based on clinical assessment and age requirement and following review by paediatric young adult orthopaedic surgeons in these hospitals. Our Lady's Hospital in Crumlin has commenced contacting families on their surgical waiting list whose children fit these clinical and age criteria, to ask their permission to share the child's medical case details and history with the relevant hospitals. Crumlin hospital expects to undertake significantly more spinal procedures by the end of 2017 than last year and will achieve significant reductions in waiting lists for scoliosis and waiting times for scoliosis patients. No child will wait longer than four months by the end of this year. That will be in line with the best practice of the NHS across the water. I hope that is of some consolation-----

And the ward in Crumlin?

April.

In April.

-----to the parents and the children who are involved here. I am sure that Deputy McDonald welcomes that in the interests of those children and the treatments being had this year.