Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Minister for his reply. Obviously I accept there is huge pressure on hospitals in the delivery of front-line services in particular. However, this goes against every statement made last year by the Minister and the Government in the context of protecting front-line services. As a fair and reasonable person, I wish to give the special delivery unit time to work to ascertain whether it is having a real impact and is effecting change. However, there is a belief abroad that there was a massaging of the figures regarding how the waiting lists were analysed in respect of a 12-month period in the first instance and, in the context of waiting lists, on what patients were waiting for more than 12 months as a part of this assessment. As for people waiting on trolleys, the claims made by the Minister that fewer people are now waiting on trolleys on a daily basis in the accident and emergency units is correct. Equally, however, if one speaks to anyone who works in the front-line services, as I acknowledge the Minister does, they also will state the wards now are being overcrowded. In other words, the issue simply is being shifted from one area of a hospital to another and there has been no real, meaningful increase in the output and throughput of patients.

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