asked the Minister for Health if he is aware that the parents of a four-and-a-half-year-old child have been advised by the consultant in the Richmond Hospital (details supplied) that she must have her tonsils and adenoids removed; that if the operation is not done in the immediate future, the child may suffer permanent deafness; that as a result of cutbacks it will not be possible to perform this operation in the Richmond Hospital for six months, and that there is a grave danger that the child's hearing may be irreparably damaged in that period; that the child's parents are both unemployed and could not afford to have the operation done privately; if he will indicate the measures he intends to take to ensure that the child gets the operation in the immediate future; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Written Answers. - Dublin Hospital Operation.
439.
I have had inquiries made of the authorities of St. Laurence's Hospital and I have been informed that this child was seen by the consultant concerned on 28 November 1983 and placed on the waiting list for tonsilectomy and adenoidectomy. The child was seen again by the consultant on 2 March 1984 when the case was reviewed. I am informed that should the case require urgent surgical intervention this will be carried out immediately.