Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I express my concern over major delays in orthopaedic surgical procedures, particularly in the Munster and southern region. Last week I was contacted by a man aged approximately 60 who has been waiting three years for a hip replacement.

He had an accident when he was younger and he told me he sleeps with the help of morphine patches and other medication.

I was alarmed to discover today that there are approximately 5,000 people in County Limerick waiting for orthopaedic surgical procedures. A review of many of those cases found that some of those people had already died because they were waiting so long while others went privately. Will the Leader arrange for the Minister for Health, Deputy Reilly, to come to the House to respond to the appalling delays? When he was the Opposition spokesman for heath, he quite properly called for the elimination of waiting lists, in particular for the elderly waiting for these procedures. This commitment was also made in the programme for Government. We are now in the third year of this Government so I ask that the Minister come to the House, in particular to address the huge delays being experienced by people waiting for knee and hip replacements, some of whom are very elderly. That situation cannot continue. These people seem to be forgotten as a result of the current difficulties in the health service. It is an issue worthy of urgent debate.