As the Deputy knows, the Department of Health, the HSE and the Minister for Health received significant additional resources this year, with an increase in the ceiling, and significant extra resources in respect of next year. I understand the Deputy's argument, that he would like to see more money made available to the HSE, but I would first like him to acknowledge that very significant extra resources have been made available. In this context, the Minister has undertaken to continue the reform programme in the HSE and to provide to additional resources.

According to the HSE's most recently published data, the total number of patients on inpatient and day case waiting lists to the end of September was 56,902. This is an increase of approximately 3,400, or 6.5%, on August. Of these, almost 10,000 adults had exceeded the target waiting time of eight months for a procedure and 1,930 children had exceeded the target paediatric waiting time of 20 weeks for a procedure. A total of four out of five people receive treatment within the target time. The Minister has committed to addressing the issue of improving the targets in the context of the significant additional resources available.

Trolley waits are an unacceptable feature of anybody's hospital experience and I am perfectly aware of the distress it causes to individuals who use them, and even more particularly to their families who accompany them to the hospital emergency department. The figures to 21 November show that compared to the baseline year of 2011, there were 11,774 fewer patients on trolleys. However, compared to 2013 there was a small increase in the number on trolleys. This is something for which the Minister has been given resources and he has undertaken to make it a priority as he seeks to have ongoing reform of the health service.

With regard to the Limerick case, as the Deputy knows, the family of the patient who unfortunately died during the summer last year consequent on being in University Hospital Limerick asked that their privacy and confidentiality be respected. They said so to all of the parties. The Deputy is aware from previous discussions on the case that the man was in the hospital on a particularly busy night. The notes state he came in on 9 July last year, was seen by a triage nurse, was assessed as triage category two, which is a fairly urgent category, and was placed on a trolley. Subsequently he was in and out, as I understand it, to have a smoke and unfortunately subsequently the man died. As I stated, I am limited in what I can say about the case because of the desire, understandably, of the family to have their privacy and the man's privacy protected.

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