Jennifer Murnane O'Connor (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We were all so affected by RTE's "Prime Time Investigates" programme last night. The Minister needs to direct the National Treatment Purchase Fund to obtain accurate and real figures on waiting lists. There are two waiting lists, one of which involves massaging the figures. Waiting lists are already shockingly high, with the number of scheduled procedures having risen from 50,000 in 2013 to 80,000 in 2016. The saddest point is that the public patients are suffering most.

Since Christmas, the number of people on trolleys in corridors of the hospitals has been the highest. The number of people waiting for appointments and procedures has rocketed. There is no accountability in the health system. There is no leadership. I heard the Minister say last night that this is unacceptable. It is unacceptable and it is not good enough.

Another urgent case that the Minister is not addressing - I have asked that the Minister appear in the House next week - concerns the unacceptably large number of cancer patients fighting for medical cards. A large number of people are waiting for months while further information is sought. These cancer patients need-----