Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent) | Oireachtas source

No. What the Senator is quoting is the longest single waiting time for any individual. The Senator has been in this business for a very long time and he knows perfectly well that the measure is of the average number of weeks waiting. To come into this House and quote the longest possible waiting time of any individual is not an honest way of producing these figures. What the Senator should have cited, but did not cite, were the average waiting times in weeks. These figures are much lower. They are not acceptable but to cite the waiting time of the one person in each area waiting the longest is misleading. The figures are inaccurate and exaggerated. What you were doing was misleading the people who read the Seanad debate. What is important-----