Today I want to talk about Ivy. Ivy was born with cerebral palsy and also suffers from hip dysplasia and neuromuscular scoliosis. In 2016, when she was 13, Ivy was told she would need spinal fusion surgery at Temple Street. At that point the curvature on her spine was 30 degrees. Years passed but there was no surgery. As the curve in her spine increased, Ivy endured excruciating pain and discomfort. Unlike other teenagers, she was unable to meet her friends and socialise. By 2019, her deteriorating health meant she was able to attend school for only one day a week. On occasion her condition was so bad she was unable to breathe. The Minister should think about that for a moment. A child in this country was waiting so long for surgery, she was left in horrific pain, denied an education and on occasion was unable to breathe. Imagine being the parent of that child, watching her suffer for years and feeling utterly helpless and utterly hopeless.

In Ivy's case it was 2021 before she finally got her surgery. By then the curve in her spine had increased from 30 degrees to more than 135 degrees. The Ombudsman for Children has today released a damning report about Ivy's care, detailing the delay in treatment and lack of communication from the hospital. When I read the report, I was struck that Ivy, despite all the trauma and pain she endured, was thinking of others. She expressed her gratitude and appreciation for the medical staff at the hospital. She said she knew they had a difficult job and are finding it hard to fulfil their responsibilities to children and young adults like her.

Desperately sick children and their families are being failed, not because of medical teams but because of a lack of resources. In 2016, we first heard promises from the then Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, that no child with scoliosis would wait longer than four months for treatment. That promise was never kept. Ivy waited for five years. As of May, 309 children were waiting for scoliosis treatment. Alarmingly, we learned earlier this month that complex spinal surgeries for children with spina bifida at Temple Street have been paused since last year.

I have a number of questions. When did the pause in surgeries at Temple Street commence? How long will surgeries be suspended for? How many children are impacted by this? How long have those children been waiting for surgery? When will the fifth operating theatre at Temple Street, which was supposed to be completed last year, be ready? When will the commitment to provide scoliosis treatment within four months actually be kept?

I thank Deputy Cairns for raising this. The experience of Ivy is harrowing and absolutely unacceptable. We, in government, want to work to ensure that is not the experience of children in this country. Last year, the Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, approved an ambitious plan from Children's Health Ireland, CHI, to reduce the number of children awaiting spinal orthopaedic procedures for scoliosis or spina bifida by year end. As part of that, €90 million in current and capital funding was allocated to implement the plan. We made progress over the course of last year. As of the end of the year, 509 scoliosis procedures had been carried out compared with 380 for the same period in the year before, a 34% increase, and an increase of 47% compared with the previous year. Cappagh hospital completed 549 non-complex orthopaedic surgeries and 68 surgeries for spina bifida patients transferred from CHI, exceeding the target of 61 for the year.

Despite undertaking a record number of spinal procedures in 2022, corresponding reductions in the waiting lists were offset by increased demand and referrals compared with previous years, with a 30% increase in additions to the spinal surgery lists compared with 2021. The children's hospital believes this is due to the loss of additional capacity elsewhere and also the challenge of Covid-19 and its impact on demand. Temple Street has developed a plan for 2023 to continue to build on the work it did last year. At the end of May this year, Temple Street and also the Cappagh National Orthopaedic Hospital had completed 171 spinal procedures, which is 6% up on the same time last year. This represents 36% of the 2023 target activity. A total of 103 spinal procedures have also been undertaken in the same period, which is 43% of target activity.

The Deputy specifically raised the report of the Ombudsman for Children on Ivy. The children's hospital has advised that it fully accepts the report from the Ombudsman for Children and has developed an action plan to address these recommendations. That investigation centred on the case of Ivy, who was 18 at the time of the complaint in 2021 and had been waiting for a spinal fusion surgery for scoliosis for five years since 2016. It is unacceptable that any child would have that experience and that start to his or her life. The Government is taking the significant steps I have just outlined to try to address the situation. We will continue to build on that and ensure that people who have had this experience in their life and need the support of our health services can avail of those essential services and that the capacity to deliver them is significantly increased.

I thank the Minister for his reply. The problem is that children with scoliosis and their families have heard all these assurances previously. As I said, in 2016 they were told that no child would wait for more than four months for treatment. It is frankly disgusting that in a country as wealthy as Ireland we have children who are effectively being tortured like this. The curve in Ivy's spine increased by more than 100 degrees over the time she was waiting for surgery. It is almost impossible to imagine that kind of trauma being inflicted on a child and Ivy is not alone. There are children throughout the country who are in pain now waiting for surgery. They are missing school and missing out on socialising with their friends. Childhoods are fleeting and their childhoods are passing them by. They do not know when they will get surgery and they desperately need it now.

Scoliosis Ireland does very important work for these children and their families. They are worried not just about their physical health in these scenarios but also about their mental health. The mental health supports for these children who suffer terribly are almost non-existent. While I hope these assurances will be kept and all the things the Minister mentioned will be worked on, what assurances can he give parents that their children's mental health in the interim will be looked after? Will he ask the Minister for Health to take extra measures to provide mental health support?

I will certainly speak to the Minister for Health further on the issue of mental health supports. Like Deputy Cairns, I have met many young people who have been affected by scoliosis and know the massive challenge it presents in their lives. It is heartbreaking for all of us to see them waiting for the operation which would significantly change the course of their lives and provide them with this support and intervention they need.

As I outlined in my earlier answer, it is something the Government is taking seriously. It is ensuring the number of people working in this service and the number of operations that can be done every year are significantly increased. By the end of last year, 509 scoliosis procedures had been carried out nationally, which was a 34% increase on the year before. We need to see that momentum and capacity significantly increased so that other children do not have the experience Ivy has had. I acknowledge that many young children, teenagers and young adults in this country are waiting for this operation. It is the objective, mission and work of the Government to ensure they can get that operation as quickly as possible.