Mairéad Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The current number of patients on waiting lists in my constituency is difficult to take in. A total of 8,866 people are currently on waiting lists for inpatient care in the Galway University Hospitals. As the Minister knows, there is a story behind every single one of those figures. There is a person in need and a family who are worried. Shockingly, more than 2,000 of those people have been waiting for more than 18 months for an appointment. We have all heard stories of people who are languishing on these waiting lists but it is important to highlight the human cost of these waiting lists and to show that these are not just figures but are real life experiences for thousands of people. One family contacted me during the summer. A man who had been waiting since 2019 for treatment was told it would be at least another year before he would be seen as a public patient. His condition was such that if he waited to get surgery, the disease would spread to other parts of his body and get worse.

For outpatient care in Galway University Hospitals, the figures are even more shocking and staggering. More than 50,000 patients are waiting for an appointment, more than 30,000 of whom have been waiting for more than six months. Those are the figures for adults; they are even higher when children are included. We are failing our children.

Tá na liostaí feithimh do na hospidéil i nGaillimh go hiomlán dochreidte. Tá os cionn 8,800 duine fásta ag fanacht ar choinní othar cónaitheacha, le níos mó ná 2,000 acu ag fanacht níos faide ná bliain go leith. Tá scéal taobh thiar de chuile cheann de na figiúirí sin agus is scéal é de dhuine atá ag fulaingt agus teaghlach atá faoi bhrú. Tá go leor páistí ag fanacht ar na liostaí feithimh seo freisin. Caithfimid chuile shórt a dhéanamh chun cabhrú leo agus tá súil agam go dtacóidh an tAire leis an rún seo anocht.

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