We have received a report from the HSE on the numbers of operations and procedures that have been cancelled or postponed in public and voluntary hospitals to date in 2016. Deputy Billy Kelleher tabled those questions. It is striking that there have been more than 5,500 cancellations of operations in the first six months of the year. It is illustrative of the runaway train waiting lists in public and voluntary hospitals have become during the past two years. It points to the urgency required on the part of the Government to establish and ring-fence substantial funding for the National Treatment Purchase Fund to reduce waiting lists and times for operations and avoid cancellations. Although the former Minister was setting his face against the initiative, it is very important that an urgent intervention be made to stop the runaway train that is waiting lists and times. It is part of the programme for Government.

There was also a commitment in the programme for Government to increase the funding for home care packages and home helps every year. Although it was included in the last programme for Government, we all know that they were cut. We must be careful about what a programme for Government states, given that they can be fictional at times. There is concern among constituents that a cap has been put on the number of home helps. Will the Tánaiste bring clarity to the issue for me? Is she aware if there is a cap on home help hours or home care packages? Will she ask the Minister for Health, Deputy Simon Harris, to come back to us on the issue? It flies in the face of a commitment in the programme for Government to increase the funding for home care packages and home helps.

The Protected Disclosures Act provides that public bodies such as Departments, local authorities and certain other publicly funded bodies are obliged to establish and maintain procedures for the making of protected disclosures by workers who are or were employed by them and for dealing with such disclosures. Public bodies must provide their employees with written information on these procedures. They must also publish an annual report setting out the numbers of protected disclosures made to them and the action taken. Will the Tánaiste outline whether her Department or An Garda Síochána have published their annual reports and, if not, when she expects to receive them?

The Chief Whip has informed me that the election of Leas-Cheann Comhairle was never on the Order Paper for this week and that the timeline has been extended.

There will hardly be any new nomination, will there?

Deputy Micheál Martin raised the issue of waiting lists. In the programme for Government there is a very strong commitment to making a sustained effort to improve waiting times for patients, with a particular focus on those who have been waiting the longest. The Deputy mentioned the National Treatment Purchase Fund, in which he has a particular interest. There is a commitment to deliver €50 million in 2017 to address waiting lists. The Department is also engaging with the National Treatment Purchase Fund and the HSE in planning a dedicated waiting list initiative which will be rolled out this year. It will be of some benefit to those who have been waiting the longest and will be targeted. Over 60% of patients on waiting lists wait less than six months for their required care, while 94% wait less than the maximum waiting time of 15 months.

That is an invented time. I do not accept it.

That is of no consolation to the individual who needs a particular operation. Having improved waiting times for scheduled or planned care for patients is a priority. Action was taken by the former Minister, Deputy Leo Varadkar, to deal with the matter. Among the initiatives taken by him were the provision of an extra €51 million in 2015 to reduce maximum waiting times. It was an important initiative. The end of 2015 result showed a 95% improvement in inpatient and day case waiting lists and an improvement of 93% in outpatient waiting lists. The extra money invested has helped to improve and reduce waiting times and it is important that we recognise this progress. We are committed to dealing with the issue and, as resources become available, they will be invested to reduce waiting times.

The Deputy asked about home care packages. Although there was a cap for a period, funding was increased in recent years as resources allowed and the economy recovered. We all recognise the major importance of developing investment and being able to provide for further investment in home care packages. I hope the decision the HSE took yesterday to reduce the cost of prescription medicines will release some resources that can be invested in services such as home care packages.