Marie Sherlock (Dublin Central, Labour)
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423. To ask the Minister for Health the total number of people on ophthalmology waiting lists in all hospitals offering ophthalmology services by length of time on such wait lists, and the average wait time someone can be expected to be seen in each of those hospitals if a referral is put in now, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [68542/25]

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. This year's plan sets out four overarching targets focused on reducing waiting times.

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, adult and child waiting list information by hospital, specialty, and time band is published monthly by the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) on its website: www.ntpf.ie/home/nwld.htm .

The information is now being made available through an interactive visual tool which provides users with a much-improved way of accessing and analysing waiting list information.

It should be noted that the health system does not collect the data necessary to calculate the average time to treatment of patients who have already received their care. The NTPF collects data on patients on a waiting list at a point in time.

The NTPF has provided my Department with the attached information which shows the mean & median average waiting times for patients on OPD and IPDC ophthalmology waiting lists by hospital at end October.