James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I have the up-to-date figures and they are not remotely like those the Deputy talks about. There have been huge decreases in the numbers of people waiting.

When we came into power in 2011 there were tens of thousands of people waiting longer than a year. Some had waited longer than two years for treatment. We met the one-year target and the nine-month target and we will meet the eight-month target this year. We might be 1% or 2% off at the end but in the main it will be met. We have achieved that with a 20% reduction in the budget and a 10% reduction in staffing levels, as well as the doom and gloom coming from the far benches, with people saying that catastrophe will occur no matter what we do.

Thankfully, the mindset of the men and women who work in the health service is not of that nature.

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