Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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240. To ask the Minister for Health the degree to which waiting times can be reduced for elective procedures in hospitals; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38212/16]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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This Government is committed to improving waiting times for patients. While recognising that demand for acute hospital services has increased this year with a 4% increase in inpatient and day case activity to end October compared with the same period last year, the important issue for patients is how long they wait.

The targets set out in the HSE Service Plan 2016 indicated that 95% of people should be waiting less than 15 months for their inpatient or daycase appointment. The latest figures published by the NTPF indicate that approximately 11 % of patients are waiting over 15 months for an inpatient or daycase appointment.

In August, I asked the HSE to develop a Waiting List Action Plan for 2016 to reduce by year end the number of patients waiting over 18 months on the Inpatient Daycase Waiting List. Since then, approximately 6,500 patients have been removed from the Waiting List. Further, approximately €11m of Winter Initiative funding has been allocated in order to support patient treatment under this Action Plan.

Budget 2017 provides for the treatment of our longest-waiting patients. €20m is being allocated to the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) in 2017, rising to €55m in 2018. Planning of these initiatives is currently being finalised with the NTPF. I will shortly be asking the HSE to develop a Waiting List Action Plan for 2017 working collaboratively with the NTPF to address inpatient, daycase and outpatient waiting times.