Ms Eilísh Hardiman:

I am happy to give that clarification and any further details needed. The Deputy is absolutely right that we did get investment in 2018 and 2019. If I was to take the position in January 2020, therefore, which for us was the last normal period in our provision of elective services, we then had 147 children on the waiting list for scoliosis treatment. Of those children waiting, 70% of them had been waiting for less than four months. That was the target we were aspiring to achieve. Some 30% of those waiting had been on the list for more than four months, and some of those had been waiting for clinical reasons. That is the position from which we have deteriorated.

What we have seen since that time is that the numbers have been increasing, because we have been unable to get elective surgeries done. The length of time that people have been waiting has also increased. Those are the facts. When we did get investment, we made some progress.

I would like to support my colleagues-----