James McDaid
Question:56 Dr. McDaid asked the Minister for Health the reason for the 32 per cent increase in hospital waiting lists in the lifetime of this coalition Government. [4291/97]
Written Answers. - Hospital Waiting Lists.
Limerick East): When the waiting list initiative commenced in June 1993, there were a total of 40,130 people on waiting lists for hospital treatment. By the end of June 1996 this figure had been reduced by 9,683 or 24 per cent over a period of three years. However, when I reviewed progress in reducing waiting lists for hospital treatment in the middle of last year, I was concerned that the overall waiting list for in-patient treatment had risen over the preceding 12 months and I recognised that swift action was required to tackle this increase. Additional funding was provided for this area to ensure that waiting lists did not continue to rise for the remainder of 1996. Waiting list figures for the end of 1996 show that the total number of persons waiting for treatment at the end of 1996 has fallen to 25,959. This represents a fall of over 17 per cent from a total of 31,519 at the end of last September. This represents significant progress in the reduction of waiting lists and demonstrates the Government's concern to ensure that the necessary resources are provided to improve waiting times for treatment.
I am happy to assure the House that special measures to reduce waiting lists will continue in 1997. The provision of special funding to reduce waiting times continues to be a priority for the Government and £4 million has been provided in the budget to continue progress in this area. This provision will bring to £8 million the total funding available in 1997 to address the problem of long waiting times for elective surgery. The funding provided in 1997 brings to £58 million the total resources committed to the reduction of hospital waiting lists since the current initiative commenced in 1993. My Department will be holding detailed discussions with health agencies in the coming weeks on the allocation of this funding.