Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Minister said that a row over statistics misses the point, but every statistic represents a person. There are 405,000 people waiting for outpatient appointments. That is a statistic, but it is an alarming statistic because there are 405,000 people involved. Clearly, the measures that the Minister is now outlining to achieve targets represents an admission that the targets set by the Government were not achievable and are not being achieved. Rather than addressing the problem the Minister is effectively moving the targets. As I said previously, it would be like Johnny Sexton kicking the ball wide from a penalty kick all the time while saying that the goalposts were in the wrong place. It is a farcical position. This is detailed spin at its best.

The Minister is setting new targets. He is setting targets that are way behind the targets in place previously. In other words, he is camouflaging the fact that the numbers of people waiting are going up. Not only that, the Minister has decided to shift the targets, for example, from nine to 18 months for some people. This is a complete admission of failure. Yet the Minister always applauds himself for the fact that he is being brave to set targets. The targets are in the wrong direction.

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