Government accused of putting ‘wrangling' over sick Palestinian children
Up to eight children were selected for urgent medical evacuation in June. However, it could be months before the paediatric patients will be moved out of the Middle East for treatment.
Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald told the Dail on Wednesday that the children's medical assessments are complete and that the hospitals and doctors have agreed to treat them – however, the evacuation has been held up over visa issues.
Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill told Ms McDonald she will bring a memo to Cabinet stating that Ireland must also transfer patients' siblings for humanitarian reasons.
Last year, the Government agreed to evacuate 30 sick children from Gaza.
There were two successful evacuations of 12 children in December and May.
However, the agreement at the time was to bring one guardian with each patient.
Taoiseach Micheal Martin said that despite the agreement, it has been facilitating the arrival of patients' siblings, which the memo seeks to regularise.
However, Ms McDonald said it is 'unacceptable' that the Government put 'bureaucratic wrangling' over the lives of very sick, injured children.
'The Government's proposed timeframe of autumn would be too late for some, or perhaps even all, of these children,' she added.
'This is a matter of life and death. They are waiting since early June, and it's vital that you, as head of government, intervene, expedite their arrival in Ireland with no further delay. And I ask you to do this with urgency.
'At least eight children were identified by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the HSE for urgent medical evacuation in early June.
'A month on, they're still waiting. Their medical assessments are complete, the doctors are ready. The hospitals are ready to receive and treat these children, but Government is stalling.
'Time is of the essence. Here it is a matter of life and death for these children. They tried to survive a genocide being carried out before the eyes of the world.
'I have corresponded with both the Tanaiste (Simon Harris) and the Minister for Health to advocate for their immediate evacuation. Minister (Jennifer) Carroll MacNeill tells me that she is bringing a memo to cabinet to seek Government approval for what she calls a more humanitarian approach to the evacuations, and that she fully expects, in her words, to welcome the next group of children in the autumn. That's months away, Taoiseach. That is an eternity away.
'The only humanitarian approach is to get these children out now.'
Mr Martin said that in the previous arrivals, the 12 children were accompanied by 12 guardians and 21 family members.
'Planning is ongoing for the next medical evacuation operation,' he added.
'There is no delay. Nothing has been stopped. There is no bureaucratic wrangling. This is not subject to any Government memo.
'In other words, a Government memo will emerge, which will, in many respects, adopt an even more generous response in terms of the numbers of family members who can come or siblings of the injured child.
'So the presentation of a memo is not material to the next flight. It will regularise what's been happening already because the original government decision had, I think, one child and one person. But actually, in practice, what we've been doing is much more than that.'
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