Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I refer to two specific waiting lists in University Hospital Waterford. As the Minister knows, 6,000 people are awaiting orthopaedic operations, be it hip or knee. These are very successful operations and greatly improve people's quality of life. Most of the operations are done in Kilcreene Orthopaedic Hospital. Patients go into hospital on a Monday and are discharged on Thursday. They are very effective. The ophthalmology waiting list is also in excess of 6,000. Under the NTPF, can we specifically target extremely long waiting lists, given that 4,000 of these 12,000 people have been on the waiting list longer than 18 months? Specific targeting of these two extremely long waiting lists would be very much appreciated.

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