Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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451. To ask the Minister for Health the reason the HSE has discontinued waiting-list targets set in 2017; the number of persons who will be affected; the number of complex cases that are still waiting for surgery; if new more ambitious targets will be now set; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6064/18]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The NTPF publishes the Inpatient/Daycase and Outpatient waiting list figures by specialty for each hospital on its website each month. This information is available at www.NTPF.ie. The NTPF does not collect data in relation to the number of complex cases within each time-band. The most recent figures published by the NTPF for the end of December 2017 indicate that there is a total of 81,468 people on the Inpatient/Day case waiting list, of which 14,867 are waiting 9-15 months, 3,161 are waiting 15-18 months and 4,495 are waiting over 18 months.

October's Budget announced a total 2018 allocation of €55m for the NTPF for 2018. This significant increase in funding more than doubles the 2017 total allocation of €20m. The NTPF and HSE are in the process of finalising Waiting List Action Plans and Initiatives for 2018. This will include ambitious targets for both the HSE and NTPF to reduce the overall number of patients waiting for treatment.

I expect to publish the 2018 Inpatient Day Case Waiting List Action Plan at the end of February.