Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Question 366: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the number of people on hospital waiting lists in the State as of February 2004; the number of adults and the number of children on waiting lists; the number of adults who have been waiting for over a year and the number of children who have been waiting six months; the change in these figures since 2002; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4580/04]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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My Department collates and publishes data on public hospital waiting lists on a quarterly basis.

The total number of people on public hospital waiting lists on 30 September 2003, the latest date for which figures are available, was 27,212. This figure includes both in-patient waiting lists and day case waiting lists and represents an annual decrease of approximately 7% on the figure for the quarter ending 30 September 2002.

Significant progress has been achieved in reducing waiting times for adults and children. The number of adults waiting more than 12 months for in-patient treatment in the nine target surgical specialities has fallen by approximately 42% from 6,273 to 3,658 between September 2002 and September 2003. The number of children waiting more than 6 months for in-patient treatment in the nine target surgical specialities has decreased by 39%, from 1,201 to 734 in the same period.

The National Treatment Purchase Fund, NTPF, is continuing to target those adults and children waiting longest for treatment. It is now the case that, in most instances, adults waiting more than 6 months for an operation and children waiting more than three months will now be facilitated by the fund.