Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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The Minister for Health and this Government acknowledge that many patients including children are waiting far too long for scheduled appointments and procedures. Waiting times were already too long and deteriorated during the Covid-19 pandemic.

On the 7^thof March, the Minister published the 2023 Waiting List Action Plan, which is the latest stage of a new multi-annual approach to sustainably reduce and reform hospital waiting lists.

The 2023 plan builds on the foundational work done through the previous plans, both of which reversed the annual trend of rising waiting lists.

For 2023, funding totalling €443 million is being allocated to tackle Waiting Lists with €363 million of this being allocated to the 2023 Waiting List Action Plan, to implement longer term reforms and provide additional public and private activity to clear backlogs exacerbated during the pandemic.

The figure quoted by the Deputy refers to the total waiting list figure for July, which includes not just those on the active waiting list, but also those suspended, those with a "to come in" date and those waiting on a planned procedure. In the most recent figures published by the NTPF last Friday this number has fallen slightly. Whilst still high, targeting those waiting a long time is vital. The new figures show 19,891 children waiting over 12 months on the active waiting list. Although still way too many, we are making progress, as this represents a decrease of 17% year to date, and 30% in the last year.