Marie Sherlock (Dublin Central, Labour)
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998. To ask the Minister for Health the average length of time that patients are awaiting for an initial appointment after being referred for care in hospitals (details supplied), per speciality, per inpatient and outpatient, from 2018 to 2024 and to date in 2025, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17386/25]

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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It is acknowledged that many patients are still waiting too long for hospital appointments and treatments. I am conscious of the burden that this places on patients and their families.

I published the Waiting List Action Plan (WLAP) for 2025 on February 12th, representing this Government’s commitment to reducing waiting times for patients and improving access to hospital care.

In keeping with this commitment, significant funding of €420m is being allocated to the Waiting List Action Plan for 2025, €190m for the HSE and €230m for the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF).

With the 2025 plan, we will continue to build upon the progress delivered to date under the multi annual action plan approach, progressing towards the ultimate vision of a public healthcare service in which everyone has timely access to high-quality scheduled care, where and when they need it.

In relation to the particular query raised by the Deputy, the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) collects data on patients on waiting lists at a point in time and the average time that these patients have been waiting is provided in the attached tables.