People willing 'to give up tax cuts so Adam, 10, can have urgent surgery'

Adam Terry has been waiting over four years for urgent scoliosis surgery. The Taoiseach said Adam's case was 'not good enough'. Picture courtesy of Brian O'Connell

Irish people would give up modest tax changes to ensure a young Cork boy receives the surgery he needs, the Dáil has been told.

Labour leader Alan Kelly raised the case of Adam Terry during leaders questions on Wednesday, saying the 10-year-old's case was "more indicative about where we are as a country" than Tuesday's €88bn budget.

Adam, from Whitechurch in Cork, told RTÉ radio he feels as though he is “at the bottom of the barrel” due to delays for his surgery for scoliosis.

In December 2020, the family was told Adam would receive his surgery in the spring.

However, in February, his mother Christine said she was told they would be waiting a further six to nine months.

Mr Kelly said he believed the majority of taxpayers would return their tax cuts to ensure surgery for Adam.

I, along with tens of thousands of voters, found it very difficult to listen to a very emotional report about Adam. Adam's story is far more important and indicative of where we are going as a country than any budget announcement. 

"Why? Because our priorities have changed. And I'm sure the majority of people in this country will give up any modest tax change. If Adam and 172 other children waiting for scoliosis procedures can have them. That's what I believe."

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On the floor of the Dáil, Mr Kelly read into the record a letter from Adam to the Taoiseach.

It said: "Taoiseach, I'm from Cork like you. You know my story well by now. Will you please ensure I get the treatment and aftercare I so desperately need, so I can get back to school and play with my friends who I miss so much? I really, really need your help."

In response, the Taoiseach said Adam's case was "not good enough".

"I don't think it's good enough. I don't think any child should have to wait so long to get surgery like this. It's complex surgery but that is no excuse. I don't think [going to London for the surgery] should be the answer. In my view, it reflects a systemic failure. And I have spoken to the Minister for Health. My office has been in touch with the HSE. 

I'm not going to give any false dawns today, I just want to see the surgery happen. And I think it needs to happen, and it needs to happen in a very timely manner."

Mr Martin said he was committed to ensuring access to surgeries and finding out "why these situations keep happening".

"I do want to see Adam go back to school. I want to see him mix with his friends. And we're going to do whatever we have to do. And I know that the consultants want to help as well in this situation. And that's what I'm saying, too. And I do think it reflects systemically, and it's not a question of resources either. The resources are there. We need to make sure that elective surgery is ringfenced from anything that happens on the trauma side in terms of consultant and theatre capacity."

Mr Kelly then read the words of the Taoiseach himself from back in 2017.

"It is a genuine scandal, how many services which children rely upon have failed in recent years, the situation is by some distance worse than it was before. One look at the waiting list for scoliosis illustrates this."

Mr Kelly said then-health minister Simon Harris had committed that priority lists for children with scoliosis would be four months long, but that this hasn't happened.