Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The figures published by the National Treatment Purchase Fund last Friday show that waiting lists for hospital procedures and treatments have increased by about 18.6% year on year, that is, an increase of about 7,764. The various categories show that the number of people waiting more than three months has increased by 32%, from close to 20,000 up to 26,200; the numbers waiting more than six months has almost doubled from about 6,000 to close to 12,000; and for the numbers waiting nine months and more there has been an incredible increase of about 4000%, from 107 in December 2012 to 4,400 in September 2013.

Equally, for children there has been an astonishing increase in waiting lists of 50%, up from 2,900 to 4,448. The list for children is compounded by the number of children waiting for outpatient appointments. There are now 40,000 children waiting for outpatient appointments in the country, 33,000 of whom are in Temple Street Children's Hospital and Our Lady's Children's Hospital, Crumlin. We know that a letter has issued from the CEO of Our Lady's Children's Hospital, Crumlin, and other CEOs stating that patient safety is compromised and will be further compromised if the scale of budget cuts announced on budget day materialises. In essence, what has happened was that when the Minister came to office there was much fanfare, spin and change. He repeatedly undermined the National Treatment Purchase Fund and essentially pulled the rug from under it. He set up the special delivery unit, appointed an independent CEO, who left the job a year early and the figures have become much worse. Does the Taoiseach agree that these figures are unacceptable, particularly for children, and what does the Government propose to do to reverse significantly the trends that have emerged in the past 12 months?

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