asked the Minister for Health the number of persons who are on waiting lists for open heart surgery at present; the number who have had this operation in each of the last two years; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

Open heart surgery is undertaken in three public hospitals in the State: the Mater Misericordiae Hospital; Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children, Crumlin and Cork Regional Hospital. The number of persons on waiting lists for open heart surgery together with the number of such operations performed in 1987 and 1988 is given in the tabular statement I propose to circulate in the Official Report. The overall level of provision for cardiac surgery in this country is, proportionate to population, about 50 per cent higher than in the United Kingdom.

*To 31 August 1988.

†To 31 July 1988.

‡To 30 September 1988.