Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the initiative. It is just like in 2022 when the last attempt was made to clear the backlog, especially in my CHO in Cork, CHO 4. I have considerable concerns that we are here again, two years on, with another waiting list. Will the Minister of State elaborate on the reasons for that given, as I said, we thought we had cleared the waiting list two years ago and now we find ourselves back in this position again with another waiting list? As many TDs in the House recognise, one of the most significant issues in weekly constituency clinics is people struggling to access therapies, assessments of needs and so on. Will the Minister of State please clarify the position? I welcome the fact she has sourced the funding. To be fair, the vast majority of people and the stakeholders involved recognise her good work on this, but will she clarify the reason we are here again two years on?

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