Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I want to raise with the Taoiseach today the appalling length of the waiting lists and waiting times in the hospitals for patients throughout the country. The situation is truly scandalous and is unacceptable, particularly for children who are waiting far too long to get to see a consultant in the three children's hospitals, especially in Crumlin and in Temple Street.

One can trace it back to the decision of the then Minister, now Senator James Reilly, in 2011 to mothball and destroy the work of the National Treatment Purchase Fund. Prior to that, the average waiting times for elective patients was approximately two and a half months for those waiting for elective treatments. Senator Reilly changed the system - it is all documented - and it has been all downhill since with dramatic increases in waiting times and in the waiting lists. For example, we now have 415,000 people waiting for outpatient appointments and 62,000 people waiting longer than one year. We have in excess of 75,000 people waiting for inpatient treatment in hospitals. Some 4,500 children are waiting for appointments in the three children's hospitals, 2,000 of whom are waiting for more than a year. One would think that when it comes to children, we should be moving might and main to eradicate or shorten dramatically those waiting times, particularly in terms of those waiting longer than a year.

The programme for Government talks about progress and sustaining progress made. I would suggest that the Taoiseach should take out the language of sustaining progress because no progress has been made over recent years in terms of waiting lists and, in fact, the situation has become dramatically worse. The waiting lists are now up 45% in two years. It is a sad indictment of what has been going on over the past two to three years in terms of policy initiative and a lack of basic urgency in dealing with this crisis. Patients, in particular children, should not have to wait that long to get to see a consultant.

There is a commitment, involving €15 million, to re-establish the treatment purchase fund. The €15 million will not be enough. There is a wider commitment of €35 million, or €50 million overall, in terms of waiting lists. Will the Taoiseach outline to the House the plans to reconstruct and re-establish the treatment purchase fund back to the model that was in existence before Senator James Reilly mothballed it in order that it would be effective and have the capacity to deliver the results?

Does the Taoiseach accept these waiting times are absolutely unacceptable for the patients concerned?

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