Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Although the Government last weekend seemed more interested in needling Fianna Fáil about renewing the confidence and supply arrangements that support the Government, it is important at this juncture for the Taoiseach to set out, as committed to, what in the programme for Government has been achieved, especially in the areas of housing and health. The programme pledges to "reduce the percentage of patients waiting longer than six hours in emergency departments from 32% currently to less than 7% by 2021, and reduce average Patient Experience Times for patients attending emergency departments and average waiting times for appointments, procedures and diagnostic tests across the health service". I do not have time to go into all the details of each of these sections, but in every single case we are going backwards, not forwards. I now deal with cases in which people get appointments in the south east four years hence. I raise these cases with the Department constantly. Even getting accurate information from the Department and the HSE is becoming increasingly difficult. Reports we now get from various sources claim that hospitals are being instructed to cancel elective surgeries to bring down waiting lists to make people believe that the waiting list problem is being resolved.

I will ask the Taoiseach a very direct question which should have a very direct answer. Is there an instruction to hospitals emanating from Government - from the Department of Health, the Taoiseach's Department or any other Department - to reduce waiting times and hospital trolley figures by cancelling elective surgeries? Is this or is this not a fact?

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