Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)

I welcome the Minister's statement that the figures may be a divergent view of his opinion of the correct figures. This is the kernel of the issue because there seems to be some difference of opinion between the HSE and the Department with regard to the method and calculation process, particularly in the context of the special delivery unit. This question was asked of the special delivery unit and when asked to explain the figure for people waiting 12 months, which seemed inordinately high, the Department said the figure of 14,000 was set by the special delivery unit in July and was based on the number on the list in December 2010 who, if they had remained on the list, would have been waiting for 12 months for care at the end of the year. That is just a mathematical fact. If these people had been on the list for 12 months or longer, they would have been waiting for 12 months or longer. Nobody stated they would definitely be on the list after 12 months and some of them would have been taken off the list if the special delivery unit had never been established. We will give time to the special delivery unit and we welcome any intervention in ensuring that we can drive down waiting lists. May we get absolute clarity on the basis of the figures? There seems to be a difference of opinions, at the very least.

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