Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Waiting lists are not increasing nationally; they have fallen for the third month in a row. Of course, patients on a pre-planned list, which is where a doctor wants to see the patient in another six months and the date for that appointment is set, are not counted as waiting. When the patient visits the doctor, is told that he or she is clinically not well enough for a procedure and is sent home, the patient is on the suspended list and is not waiting. Let us compare apples and apples and not confuse people on purpose. Waiting list numbers have reduced for three months in a row, but we have much more to do.

I agree with the Deputy on the issue of an integrated system. I have outlined to her how we have asked Trinity College Dublin to undertake a body of work, which will conclude in the first quarter of 2018, examining how other countries manage waiting lists. No other country counts them as we do. We are also asking eHealth Ireland to consider the Deputy's suggestion, which has merit. We might even call it "Comhliosta".

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