Cecilia Keaveney (Fianna Fail)

I welcome the honesty of the Minister of State's reply. In May this year, 400 people had been waiting for more than 12 months for treatment at Letterkenny General Hospital. While the figure stood at 316 in December, the decrease is not significant when one considers that 260 patients can be referred to the National Treatment Purchase Fund in two weeks. While I commend the efforts being made to address this problem, I reiterate that some type of obstacle is preventing those waiting longest from being called for treatment. It is this that is stymieing use of the facility to refer those waiting for three months to the National Treatment Purchase Fund, as is done elsewhere in the country. I ask all those concerned to ensure this matter is addressed and patients do not suffer as a result of a geographical bias.