David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Of course, I welcome any reduction in the length of time people are awaiting care and I acknowledge the slight drop in that this year, but it is not just about people who are being treated. According to my latest figures, 60,000 patients were taken off the waiting lists through a process of validation. I do not disagree with that - it needs to be done because the waiting lists have to be fit for purpose - but they are not all people actually being treated. Some of it relates to the fact we are cleaning up the waiting lists, which does need to be done.

The Minister stated in an opinion piece published last February that he wanted to ensure people would not have to wait more than 12 months for any hospital procedure or 18 months for their first appointment by the end of this year. In my view, that is certainly not going to happen. A total of 120,000 people have still been waiting more than 18 months for their first outpatient appointment and 13,000 have been waiting longer than that. I have spoken to hospital managers and they need more beds in some hospitals.

They need more diagnostic capacity in public hospitals, not more outsourcing. They need more community beds and recovery beds in order that they can discharge patients and speed up that process. Crucially, they need more supports for people being cared for in the home and those with chronic conditions who are being cared for in the community. All of these measures are part of the solution.

Unless we have a long-term plan that beds in public investment rather than short-terms plans that are about outsourcing more and more, I do not believe we will actually get to a point where we really tackle the waiting lists. By the way, 1.3 million people waiting for care is far too many people.

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