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

The fact that people are not attending hospital appointments does not explain the extraordinary figures, for instance in respect of cardiology, where 233 cardiology appointments have been outstanding for more than a year. It does not explain the situation regarding plastic surgery where 456 people have been waiting to be dealt with by plastic surgeons, which is an increase of 265 on last year. There are significant delays in respect of people seeking ear, nose and throat, ENT, treatment. The Minister's predecessor, Deputy Varadkar, had set a target of July 2015 for nobody to be waiting more than 18 months. We need the Minister to recognise that the Government's strategy simply is not working. We need to know what plan has been put in place regarding the usage of the National Treatment Purchase Fund, NTPF, or other mechanisms to ensure people do not find themselves in this inhuman position of waiting longer than 18 months for treatment.

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