Vol. 473 No. 1
92 Mrs. Geoghegan-Quinn asked the Minister for Health if he will give details of the Government's strategy for tackling hospital waiting lists which have increased by 32 per cent since the current Administration came into office; and his targets for reducing the lists over the next quarter. [24720/96]
Limerick East): Considerable progress has been made in reducing waiting lists for hospital treatment and the Government remains committed to the objective of further reducing waiting lists. The total public in-patient waiting list at the end of September 1996 of 31,519 is 21 per cent lower than the figure of 40,130 in July 1993 before the begining of the waiting list initiative.
However, I had been concerned that waiting lists for hospital treatment have risen over the past 12 months and, in line with my commitment to continue progress in this area, I made available an additional allocation of £5 million to tackle this problem. This brings to £12 million the total funding provided in 1996 for the waiting list initiative. The impact of the additional activity which is taking place as a result of this additional allocation is not reflected in the quarterly waiting list figures for the end of September.
93 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Health when a person (details supplied) in County Mayo will be called to have a brace fitted with the Western Health Board. [24299/96]
Limerick East): As the provision of orthodontic treatment to eligible persons in County Mayo is the statutory responsibility of the Western Health Board, I have asked the chief executive officer of the board to investigate the position in relation to this case and to reply the Deputy directly as a matter of urgency.
