I am grateful for the opportunity to outline my difficulty in obtaining details of waiting lists up to the end of March. The inadequate replies to my parliamentary questions on this matter gave me no option but to raise the matter on the Adjournment.
Five weeks ago I tabled a parliamentary question to the Minister for Health in which I asked for the hospital waiting lists to the end of March. The Minister said that they would be circulated to me shortly. When I did not receive the details by 20 April I tabled another parliamentary question in which I asked the Minister why the hospital waiting lists to the end of March were not available in view of the advances in technology. On 22 April the Minister replied to my question by giving endless excuses and effectively blaming the consultants for the delay. He added that a significant proportion of the information on the waiting list figures was compiled and validated manually. He again promised to provide the lists as soon as they became available.
I have still not received the lists two weeks later. I believe the lists are being withheld because the figures are bad. When the figures are good the lists seem to be published much quicker. Hospital waiting lists are obviously out of control. In December 1994 when the rainbow coalition took office there were 23,700 people on the waiting lists. This figure had been reduced from more than 40,000 through intensive action and an investment of £30 million by the previous Government. This progress has not been maintained by the coalition Government. Only £20 million has been spent in the past two years, and this has not even been sufficient to maintain the number on the waiting lists at 23,700. At one stage the number had increased by almost one-third or 32 per cent to 31,519. Even though the figure was reduced to 26,000 in December this was still an increase of 2,300 on the 1994 figure. The figures to the end of March are likely to have increased again due to the cancellation of procedures during the nurses' dispute and the ongoing chaos in hospitals.
I call on the Minister to give an undertaking to publish the lists before the end of the weekend. Otherwise people will draw their own conclusions. If the Minister continues to refuse to publish the lists he will be yet another Minister to make a sham of the Government's claim to be open, transparent and accountable and will join the list from the Taoiseach down of Ministers who have been economical with the truth. Until such time as I receive the lists I will continue to press the Minister to publish them. I look forward to the Minister of State giving me the figures this evening. If he does not I ask him to give an undertaking that they will be sent to me before the weekend is over.
