Bertie Ahern (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

I repeat it is not an assessment of urgent and non-urgent that I am making. It is one that the relevant consultants are making. Cases are classified as urgent by the general practitioner who refers the person to the consultant. They are making the call as to whether it is urgent, not an administrative person. The urgent cases are given the next available time slot and patients are usually seen within two to three days. In some areas, where clearly there is not a good system in place, it is within five weeks. That is based on the geographical location. The non-urgent cases are placed on waiting lists and the waiting time varies significantly from three to 18 months.

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