Seán Haughey
Question:161 Mr. Haughey asked the Minister for Health and Children the plans, if any, he has to tackle hospital waiting lists; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11419/00]
Written Answers. - Hospital Waiting Lists.
The multi-faceted nature of the issue of waiting lists was considered by the expert review group which reported to my predecessor in 1998. I am currently reviewing progress to date in the implementation of the wide-ranging measures of a short, medium and longer term nature recom mended in that report. In attaching a serious priority to tackling lengthy waiting lists and times, there are a number of practical steps that can be taken to accelerate progress, including achieving more flexible use of available capacity and closer collaborative arrangements between the different parts of the system. In this context, a review of bed capacity is currently under way having regard to the trend in demands for health services in recent years. Taken together with longer term measures associated with the investment of resources available under the national development plan, my aim is to achieve real progress in addressing the underlying causes of poor accessibility to certain services.