Denise Mitchell (Dublin Bay North, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The position on waiting lists is a scandal. In May more than 700,000 people were on waiting lists. We have the worst waiting lists in Europe. Patients have no idea where they are on waiting lists. As a result, people are left in pain and discomfort for years. To top it all off, 54,306 children are on waiting lists across the State. The Government should be ashamed of that record.

That there is still no integrated waiting list management system is ridiculous. It means that it is pot luck whether someone is treated in a few weeks or a few years because patients have no idea how lists for certain procedures are dealt with in each hospital. Fine Gael's solution to this problem is to throw money at private healthcare providers, while the reality is that we should be investing in the public health service. That is reason people pay their taxes. Many who want to receive treatment in a timely fashion are being forced to go to private hospitals. I do not know on what planet members of Fine Gael live, but citizens in my constituency who are hard workers, raising families and trying to keep a roof over their heads simply cannot afford private healthcare, nor should they have to do so.

The huge waiting lists are causing massive distress. I want to raise a case with the Minister. Last Thursday a lady in my constituency telephoned me. She was very upset about a letter which had arrived from Beaumont Hospital addressed to her son. It was to remind her son that he had an upcoming outpatient appointment. Her son had died in April 2006. Twelve years after his death, his mother received a letter to remind her of an outpatient appointment.

The position on waiting lists is a disgrace. We need to get a handle on the issue.

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