Parents of deaf children back on the streets to highlight campaign

MEMBERS of the Happy New Ear Campaign were back outside the Dail last week in their latest attempt to secure Government funding for a bilateral cochlear implant programme for deaf children.

Parents held a one-minute silence in support of the children whose single cochlear implants have failed, plunging them back into a world of silence.

In Ireland, single cochlear implants are provided for profoundly deaf children. However, best international practice is for two implants to be simultaneously inserted.

Lorraine Murphy, from Swords, whose daughter Anna is hoping to benefit from a second implant, said that around 200 children are in need of the programme.

“No mention of bilateral cochlear implants was made in the Budget speech last week and we cannot afford to let this roll on for another year,

? she said.

“The stark reality is that since we started this campaign, some children have become ineligible for a second implant for medical reasons.

“It is vital that second implants are carried out as urgently as possible before the nerve endings in the child’s ear dies.

“We need Minister Reilly to announce that he has included us in his budget for 2014 so we can get on with living our lives and caring for our children.

?

Sinn Fein’s Justice spokesman, Jonathan O’Brien, observed a two-minute silence during his speaking time in the Dail last week in a gesture of solidarity with the Happy New Ear campaigners.

The Minister for Health, James Reilly, said that while there were no easy choices, the issue of bilateral cochlear implants remained a priority.

The initial rollout of the programme is expected to cost

?¬12.5 million.