Paul Donnelly (Dublin West, Sinn Fein)
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917. To ask the Minister for Health the number of patients awaiting ear, nose, throat surgery at the ENT department of the Mater Hospital; the types of surgeries being awaited; and the current waiting times for patients to receive ENT surgery; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [60966/25]

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 in February, representing this Government’s continued commitment to reducing waiting times for patients and improving access to hospital care.

With the multi annual action plan approach, we are 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.

My Department is engaging with the HSE and National Treatment Purchase Fund to develop the action plan for 2026, building on the progress delivered to date, renewing the focus on improving waiting times for patients, and considering the learnings from the challenges that arose in 2025.

In relation to the particular query raised, the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) has provided my Department with the attached table which shows the number of patients on the Inpatient/Day Case Waiting List for ENT at the Mater Hospital at the end of September. The table provides a breakdown of the numbers waiting by procedure and time-band.