I am raising this Topical Issue again because children across south Tipperary are being left without access to critical basic community ophthalmology services due to repeated recruitment failures following the planned retirement of the previous consultant, Dr. Hillery, in August 2024. This is not a new issue. It has now escalated into a full-blown failure of ophthalmology service delivery across south Tipperary. What should be a core community service simply has not existed for the past two years. More than 2,000 children are on the waiting list, 1,500 of whom are under the age of four. As we all know, vision development in early childhood is time-sensitive. Delays in assessment and treatment can have lasting consequences for speech and language development, educational progress, social interaction and general confidence and well-being. Very young children are waiting two, three or four years. In some cases my office has been made aware of, children have been waiting for an appointment since 2023. This can mean missing critical developmental windows. In the interim, families are being advised to contact the emergency clinic at University Hospital Waterford if concerns become urgent. Families who have engaged with me tell me that the reality is that, more often than not, the phone in Waterford is not being answered. Waterford is already under huge pressure with its own waiting list. What we really need is a structured contingency plan. I have raised this matter repeatedly throughout 2025, in February, April, July, October and December, and I had a Topical Issue debate on it with the Minister of State on 18 February this year. What immediate actions are being taken to secure a permanent consultant ophthalmologist for south Tipperary? We have now had three campaigns. Following the first campaign, the successful candidate declined the position. The second campaign found no eligible candidates. I do not think there were even any applications. None of the candidates who applied during the most recent campaign were deemed eligible. We also need to know what changes are going to be made. We are now entering into a fourth recruitment campaign. We need to ensure it is successful. How will the Minister for Health ensure that patients in south Tipperary receive timely and equitable access to this critical ophthalmology service? I wish to refer to the response that I received on 18 February last delivered by the Minister of State. The HSE said that it was engaging with the Royal Victoria Ear and Eye Hospital in Dublin with a view to supporting Tipperary South. Is there any update? The HSE also confirmed that it was entering into discussions with a private agency with a view of a scoping exercise being conducted. I previously spoke about availing of capacity within the private sector. There are 2,000 children waiting, with 1,500 under the age of four. As if the crisis in orthodontic services was not enough across the south east, this is another full-blown crisis with regard to ophthalmology.

Sentiment score: 0.05

I thank the Minister of State for her reply. It is very unfortunate. What I find most frustrating is that Dr. Hillery's retirement was a planned retirement. The recruitment processes that we have been going through for the past 15 months should have commenced before Dr. Hillery's planned retirement. I am a small bit alarmed about what was not mentioned in the reply, namely, the HSE's engagement with the Royal Victoria Ear and Eye Hospital in Dublin. What was the outcome of that engagement? There was also no reference to engaging with the private agency, as was suggested in the reply to me on 18 February. There is no detail on the scoping exercise or, indeed, any plan to avail of capacity within the private sector. I welcome that a multidisciplinary working group has been established involving consultants from University Hospital Waterford and the national clinical lead for ophthalmology. This is a matter concern for all the elected representatives in south Tipperary. Perhaps a meeting could be set up with Deputies Healy and McGrath and myself. It is important that we be kept updated. What are the contingency measures in the meantime? My understanding is that there is no additional capacity. Everybody is working hard down in University Hospital Waterford. I do not like to put on the record of this Chamber that parents are telling me that the phone is going unanswered, but parents are unfortunately being forced into accessing private ophthalmology. It is a crisis. I would like to organise a meeting with the Minister.

Sentiment score: -0.06