Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It is important to put on the record of the Dáil the waiting lists for outpatients in St. Vincent's hospital. In January 2016, there was a total of 15,612 people on the outpatient waiting list. By January 2017, it had increased to 17,526. What is most significant about the figures is the increase in the amount of time and the number of people who have been waiting for 18 months or more. In January 2016, 19 patients on the outpatient waiting list had been waiting 18 months or longer. By January 2017, the figure had exploded to 491 people. Although the Minister has been in office for only ten months, his party has been in power for six years. The explosion in those figures, particularly for people who have been there longer than 18 months, needs to be explained and we need a plan in respect of it.

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