The figures published by the National Treatment Purchase Fund last Friday show that waiting lists for hospital procedures and treatments have increased by about 18.6% year on year, that is, an increase of about 7,764. The various categories show that the number of people waiting more than three months has increased by 32%, from close to 20,000 up to 26,200; the numbers waiting more than six months has almost doubled from about 6,000 to close to 12,000; and for the numbers waiting nine months and more there has been an incredible increase of about 4,000%, from 107 in December 2012 to 4,400 in September 2013.

Equally, for children there has been an astonishing increase in waiting lists of 50%, up from 2,900 to 4,448. The list for children is compounded by the number of children waiting for outpatient appointments. There are now 40,000 children waiting for outpatient appointments in the country, 33,000 of whom are in Temple Street Children's Hospital and Our Lady's Children's Hospital, Crumlin. We know that a letter has issued from the CEO of Our Lady's Children's Hospital, Crumlin, and other CEOs stating that patient safety is compromised and will be further compromised if the scale of budget cuts announced on budget day materialises. In essence, what has happened was that when the Minister came to office there was much fanfare, spin and change. He repeatedly undermined the National Treatment Purchase Fund and essentially pulled the rug from under it. He set up the special delivery unit, appointed an independent CEO, who left the job a year early and the figures have become much worse. Does the Taoiseach agree that these figures are unacceptable, particularly for children, and what does the Government propose to do to reverse significantly the trends that have emerged in the past 12 months?

This is always a matter of concern and a topical debate. Since the special delivery unit was initiated in July 2011, significant progress has been made in a range of areas resulting in reducing the number of patients on hospital trolleys and on waiting lists. By the end of last year there was a 98% decrease in patient day case waiting lists over nine months, a 95% decrease for children waiting 20 weeks and a 99% decrease for routine endoscopes more than 13 weeks over the year. For a number of reasons, the early months of the year have always brought exceptional pressure on these lists, not the least of which was referred to by the Minister, after some analysis, that this was due to a failure to provide cover when people are away on holidays. The Minister for Health set a target to eliminate the waiting list for all inpatients over eight months by the end of this year. As a result, the increase in 2013 was certainly much greater than expected, with a 16% increase in total numbers waiting between December 2012 and December 2013. However, through the sustained intervention of the special delivery unit this trend is now reversed with a 5% reduction in total numbers waiting and a 42% reduction in the numbers waiting more than eight months since the end of July 2013. As of 21 November 2013, 3,393 people are waiting more than eight months.

A range of responses are being taken, such as using an €18 million intervention fund to meet the targets; developing and monitoring a number of special plans with hospitals where the elective waiting lists are under pressure; identifying increased capacity and capability across hospital groups - some surgeons and consultants tell me they have got spare capacity in their hospitals and said they can take some off the long waiting lists; increased operating theatre lists; a national analysis of risks impacted on hospitals; speciality level performance and so on. The electronic data collection commenced in March 2013. Material provided by the HSE indicates that between 28 March 2013 and 21 November 2013, there was a 5% reduction in total numbers waiting, a 41% reduction in numbers waiting more than 12 months, a 34% reduction in numbers waiting between 12 and 24 months, a 40% reduction in numbers waiting between 24 and 36 months, a 56% reduction in numbers waiting between 36 and 48 months and an 87% reduction in numbers waiting 48 months plus. The direction given by the Minister was to deal as a priority with the cases that are waiting longest. The Deputy may shake his head. If he wants to dispute the evidence, he may do so, but this is the electronic data collection commenced by the Minister in March 2013. If it is wrong, please prove it.

These are the figures.

Where did they come from?

The National Treatment Purchase Fund figures were published last Friday. There is no argument about these figures. Therefore, let us put the spin to one side.

The Deputy could not even count the outpatients.

The outpatient lists are shocking. You undermined repeatedly the National Treatment Purchase Fund by taking the funds from it and putting them into the special delivery unit and the result is that there are far more people on the waiting list.

Sorry, Deputy, through the Chair, please.

This is the total volume of inpatient and day case people waiting for procedures in our hospitals. I did not publish these figures. The National Treatment Purchase Fund published them. Please do not try to undermine them by more spin and trying to camouflage the reality on the ground for children and people who are waiting for badly needed procedures.

A question, please, Deputy.

The bottom line is that when the Minister, Deputy Reilly, came to office the National Treatment Purchase Fund had clear targets - six months for adults and three months for children. The Minister invents the 12 months target and gets rid of three months and six months and gets away with it for a year by essentially falsifying the message and the presentation of the message.

Rubbish.

The bottom line is that it has come through. Some 107 were on the waiting list in December 2012 for nine months and more while the number is now 4,473. That is not my figure, it is the figure from the National Treatment Purchase Fund. There has been a 97% increase in the number of people waiting nine months and more, according to the National Treatment Purchase Fund. The position regarding children is shocking in terms of inpatient and outpatient lists for Our Lady's Children's Hospital, Crumlin, and Temple Street Children's Hospital. The National Treatment Purchase Fund figures show that the numbers of children on waiting lists has increased by 50% and there are more than 40,000 waiting-----

The Deputy is two minutes over time.

What is the Taoiseach going to do to change tack, stop all he spin and the presentation, and the undermining of the National Treatment Purchase Fund that has happened in the past two years? The result is that there are more people waiting for longer times than ever before.

Of course, the Deputy ran a mile from it himself when he had responsibility for this area. At least the Minister, Deputy Reilly, has faced up to the challenge and is doing something about it. For 2013, as set out in the HSE service plan, the target maximum wait for inpatient and day case procedures is eight months for adults and 20 weeks for children.

The waiting time for a routine GI endoscopy procedure was 13 weeks at the end of September. The figures have now been published on the website. The total number of people waiting is 49,496. A total of 11,939 people or 24.1% are waiting over six months. Of those waiting over six months, 4,473 are waiting over nine months. Of those waiting over nine months, 934 are waiting over a period of 12 months. This is not satisfactory but it is an improvement on the situation that applied before.

In respect of emergency department trolley waiting times from 2011 to 2013, an analysis demonstrates there was a reduction in the number of patients waiting on trolleys for admissions. There was a 22% reduction between 2011 and 2012, a 12% reduction between 2012 and 2013 and a 32% reduction in the number of emergency department patients between 2011 and 2013. For the year 2012-13, the analysis demonstrates that for the week of 18 to 24 November this year, which was a reference week identified by the Fianna Fáil spokesperson on health, the reduction in the number of patients waiting on trolleys for admission for 2012 was 1,139. Between then and 2013, the figure was 950. The week of 18 to 24 November represented an overall reduction of 20%. These are things that obviously change depending on the nature of the health business. The national trolley count average value is based on the INMO trolley count undertaken five days a week with one measurement a day at 8 a.m. I have given Deputy Martin the inpatient and outpatient figures. We want to continue to improve them. As Deputy Martin well knows because he failed to do so, this is not something that will be sorted out overnight but I am glad to say that the people who work on the front line of these services do an extraordinary job and continue to do so. The Government will continue to work with the Minister for Health to see that these waiting lists are reduced. As I pointed out to Deputy Martin, they have started with those left lingering on waiting lists for three, five or seven years in some cases because the previous Government ran away from it and did not touch it.

That is not true.