Clare FM

An Ennis-based councillor has made renewed calls for sight and hearing tests to be made more readily-available to toddlers and young children. HSE data reveals 173 Clare children between the ages of 5 and 17 have been waiting over 12 months for an ophtalmology (opp-thall-mology) appointment while 146 have been waiting the same amount for an audiology appointment. In the last five years, 8,109 visual assessments and 8,246 hearing assessments of Junior Infants have been carried out in Clare schools. Fine Gael Councillor Mary Howard has argued that children should be able to be seen easily in their local opticians to avoid life-long sight issues.