Sinn Féin spokesperson on Health David Cullinane TD has called on the Minister for Health to outline when he will receive the results of the audit into Children’s Health Ireland’s use of €19 million which was allocated to tackle children’s spinal surgery and related diagnostic waiting lists.

Teachta Cullinane expressed concern that the audit was taking far too long to complete and said that the Minister should clarify if there are significant issues which have led to the lengthy delay in completing the audit.

The TD for Waterford said there were serious issues with the length of time it takes the HSE and Children’s Health Ireland to validate data and to provide transparency, referencing incorrect data which CHI provided to the HSE on hospital cancellations for 2023 and 2024 which has still not been fully validated.

Teachta Cullinane said:

“The Minister ordered the audit of children’s spinal surgery waiting list funding four months ago, yet we still do not have answers. Answers were expected within weeks given the severity of the situation. This audit seems to be taking far too long to complete, and the Minister should clarify the reasons for the lengthy delay. The Minister should outline when he expects to receive the audit report, and the timeframe he initially set out when he ordered the audit.

“Children’s spinal surgery waiting lists are a major issue of public concern. People are rightly outraged by the ongoing scandal of years-long waiting lists for children with scoliosis and spina bifida. The inability of the Government and the HSE to address these waiting lists speaks to the depths of crisis in the health service. Nobody wants to see these children continue to suffer in agony for years without end. For that reason, it was extremely concerning that the Minister saw the need to audit the waiting list funding which was given to Children’s Health Ireland in 2022. It is a very serious charge to suggest that this money was not spent appropriately.

“There are serious issues with the length of time it takes the HSE and Children’s Health Ireland to validate data and to provide transparency. In April, I was provided with incorrect data on hospital cancellations for 2023 and 2024 by the HSE which it had been given by CHI. The validity of the data was challenged by CHI, yet more than ten weeks later it has still not been able to provide the correct data for 2023.

“These issues speak to a much wider concern I have about accountability in the health service. Getting data and transparency from certain parts of the health service is like pulling teeth. Some parts of the health service can provide very good, trustworthy data very quickly, but other parts are black holes where there is no transparency or accountability. This is a result of the HSE’s fragmented and outdated financial and data management systems, caused by underinvestment in IT infrastructure, and it is a severe issue for public confidence. The health service cannot properly track or monitor its expenditure, yet it is responsible for a €23 billion budget. This situation is entirely unacceptable and a serious block on reform, but the Government has not addressed it.”