James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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Question 243: To ask the Minister for Health and Children when a person (details supplied) in County Dublin will be given a date for a procedure sooner than advised; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41583/10]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Independent)
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As this a service matter, it has been referred to the HSE for direct reply.

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick East, Labour)
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Question 244: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the reason there are different waiting times for different hospitals when it comes to persons seeking the assistance of the National Treatment Purchase Fund for a procedure or operation for which they have been waiting the requisite three months; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41586/10]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Independent)
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The primary remit of the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) is to offer surgical procedures to public patients who have been waiting longest for surgery. Once a person has been waiting for longer than three months, he or she may be eligible for treatment through the Fund.

Where hospitals have significant numbers on a waiting-list, the Fund prioritises the provision of treatment to those waiting longest, in advance of patients who may have been waiting for a significantly shorter period.