Tim O'Malley (Limerick East, Progressive Democrats)

The Government will continue and hopefully another 13,000 patients will be treated under the national treatment purchase fund this year. Eighty per cent of patients now wait less than one year for surgical treatment. The figures for 2004 show that 20% of patients wait over 12 months and 2.5% wait over 24 months. This is very positive news for patients in that those who have been waiting longest have now been either treated under the national treatment purchase fund or have been offered treatment. The fund's target is to treat more than 12,000 patients this year and it has the capacity to treat a minimum of 1,000 patients per month.

This Government is proud of its unprecedented initiatives on reforming the health services. I look forward to continuing to work with my colleague, the Minister for Health and Children, on the initiatives he has taken on behalf of the Government.

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