A Cheann Comhairle, I wish to thank you for allowing me to raise the matter of the enormous dissatisfaction with the orthodontic service in South Tipperary. This is not due to the staffing in the county clinic in Clonmel but rather to the restructuring of the scheme by the South Eastern Health Board. Parents are at the point of desperation, not knowing if or when orthodontic treatment will be available to their children.
This is the second time in the past three years that I have raised this issue in this House and the numbers worried about the delay in obtaining orthodontic treatment continue to increase. I have had no success in getting information about when orthodontic treatment will be available to particular students. This is frustrating for me but exasperating for the parents, who rightly feel obligated to have their children's teeth treated. Children often suffer severe embarrassment and sometimes personality problems because of protruding or crooked teeth. This can hinder a young person's overall development and interfere with school performance.
I have given details of just one girl in South Tipperary who has been on the waiting list for four years. She is now in fifth year and she and her parents are desperately worried about whether she will receive orthodontic treatment before she completes second level education. She is just one of many in this situation. This is unacceptable and unfair. When I contacted the health board in regard to this student I could not get any information as to when treatment would be available.
The last time I raised this in the House I was told that the delay was due to the lack of an X-ray machine. That has been provided, but now there seems to be some other problem. I cannot understand why there is no information about how many are on the waiting list and whether a student will be seen in three months, in six months or within a year. The health board should be able to give some idea of when the service will be available and that would relieve parents of some of the frustration. Because of the lack of any guarantee from the clinic that orthodontic treatment will be provided, I have seen parents who cannot afford to do so resort to trying to provide private treatment, and we all know how expensive such treatment is. It is unfair that any parent should be put in such a situation. I cannot understand why we cannot be told how many are on the waiting list, where a student is placed on the waiting list and when the treatment will be available. The lack of information is totally frustrating. The problem is compounded by the fact that I, as a public representative, cannot get the information either.
I look forward to the Minister's reply in the hope that he can give some explanation. Most important, a directive should issue to health boards to tell people how long they must wait for this service. Above all, I hope the Minister can give me an assurance that the orthodontic service for people on the waiting list in South Tipperary will be up and running and that there will be some cut in the waiting time over the next year.
