Finance Minister remains skeptical that a sole budgetary adjustment will eliminate long waiting lists for child community care.

The Taoiseach and the Taínaiste have identified child poverty and the lengthy waiting lists for children in community healthcare as priority issues. In response, the Government is taking multiple steps to address these pressing concerns.

Minister for Children, Norma Foley, has announced a review of the Childcare Act, which is central to how community healthcare waiting list issues are addressed. However, the exact timeframe for implementing changes to address the question of waiting lists for children remains undetermined.

The Government is also considering more targeted measures to address energy and food poverty, as well as looking at how they can bring forward targeted measures to help with child poverty.

In the realm of community healthcare, the Government has been prioritising this area year by year, and has attempted to increase the number of workers qualified to work in the "highly specialized" area of community healthcare.

Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe has expressed wariness about reducing community healthcare waiting lists for children through a single budget. Instead, he believes that addressing the needs of children waiting for appointments requires multiple budgets, not just one.

Despite the challenges, Minister Donohoe has pledged to spare no effort in trying to put resources and people in place to make a difference for children on the waiting list. He has acknowledged the individual difficulties, anxiety, and worry behind every family and child on the waiting list.

It's worth noting that more than 42,000 children in Ireland have spent over a year awaiting essential community-based appointments. This underscores the urgency of the situation and the need for swift and effective action.

As the review of the Childcare Act and the Government's efforts to address child poverty and community healthcare waiting lists progress, updates will be provided to keep the public informed.