Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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196. To ask the Minister for Health his plans to deal with the extensive outpatient orthopaedic waiting list at University Hospital Waterford, where 1,655 people are waiting in excess of 18 months (details supplied). [14404/19]

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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197. To ask the Minister for Health his plans to deal with the extensive outpatient ophthalmology waiting list especially for the elderly at University Hospital Waterford of which 594 are waiting in excess of 18 months (details supplied). [14405/19]

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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198. To ask the Minister for Health his plans to deal with the outpatient urology waiting list at University Hospital Waterford, where 981 people are waiting in excess of 18 months (details supplied). [14406/19]

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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199. To ask the Minister for Health his plans to deal with the outpatient ENT waiting list at University Hospital Waterford, where 3,437 people are waiting in excess of 18 months (details supplied). [14407/19]

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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200. To ask the Minister for Health his plans to deal with the outpatient dermatology waiting list at University Hospital Waterford, where 973 people are waiting in excess of 18 months (details supplied). [14408/19]

Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail)
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201. To ask the Minister for Health his plans to deal with the outpatient respiratory medicine waiting list at University Hospital Waterford, where 604 people are waiting in excess of 18 months (details supplied). [14409/19]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 196 to 201, inclusive, together.

I am conscious that waiting times are often unacceptably long and of the burden that this places on patients and their families. In this regard, I committed to improving waiting times for hospital appointments and procedures.

Budget 2019 announced that the Government has further increased investment in tackling waiting lists, with funding to the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) increasing from €55 million in 2018 to €75 million in 2019.

A key element of this Plan is the stabilisation of the Outpatient Waiting List which remains a significant challenge. The HSE, in line with the National Service Plan 2019 will provide 3.3 million outpatient appointments, more than 1 million of which will be first outpatient appointments.

In addition, the NTPF will fund an additional 40,000 first outpatient appointments through weekend and out of hour’s clinics and ‘see and treat’ clinics.

In relation to the particular queries raised, as this is a service matter, I have asked the HSE to respond to the Deputy directly.