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

We have been talking about these particular issues for a long period and the overall challenges facing services. The Minister spoke about referrals. At the same time, GPs, general practitioners, are unnecessarily referring more people to the acute hospital system and to consultants due to lack of resourcing in primary care. GPs are effectively looking at the number of people outside their surgery doors. The Minister is one himself, so he should know how it works. Any condition that is complex or needs further analysis will often be referred on because the GP does not have the time, resources or systems and is under pressure. That is one reason there are more people going on to the waiting lists.

There is no point in us pretending but there has been a massive increase in the number of people waiting over a year. In Cork, it is almost a 600% increase. I accept the more consultants and lists one has, the bigger the headline figure will be. The one underneath that, namely people waiting a year, does not lie. That is simply because there is no capacity in the system.

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