Health Services
Dail Éireann — 2026-09-30
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Michael Murphy (FG), Tipperary South

I am sharing this Topical Issue with Deputy McGrath about the crisis in community ophthalmology in south Tipperary. I have raised this repeatedly in the Chamber in other Topical Issue Matter debates and numerous parliamentary questions. This follows the planned retirement of Dr. Hillary, the community ophthalmologist working out of south Tipperary in August 2024. For reasons unknown to me, three recruitment campaigns have failed to recruit a new community ophthalmologist consultant. In the meantime, there are more than 2,300, I think, on the waiting list in south Tipperary. It may surprise the Minister of State to hear that 1,500 of those are children under the age of four, some waiting as far back as 2021. He can appreciate it is very difficult for me as a Teachta Dála representing south Tipperary when parents contact my constituency office - what do I tell them? I am sure as a parent himself the Minister of State will agree that when it comes to ophthalmology, early intervention is crucial. We were promised blitz clinics and a collaboration with the eye and ear hospital in Dublin. There is no evidence any of those initiatives have commenced. I am looking for an update on recruitment as well. We need that multidisciplinary team at the earliest opportunity so that the 2,300 on the waiting list can be dealt with as soon as possible.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-09-30/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-10-05T01:00:59+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-09-30