Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

If I took the lowest number, I would take the number at 8 p.m. in the evening, which is generally lower than 200, even on a bad day, so that is not the case at all. The number at 8 a.m. is always the worst because of the number of people who come in overnight. A huge amount has been done in this space, probably more than in any recent year, but it needs to be sustained. The demands are very significant.

With regard to elective surgery, which is non-urgent and is being postponed, it is not being cancelled entirely. The fact that we are using the private hospitals has allowed us to keep some level of control over the waiting times for inpatient procedures and day cases. In recent months those waiting for long periods - more than 12, 15 or 18 months - for inpatient and day case procedures has gone down.

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