Nationally, 20,437 people are waiting for ophthalmology appointments, with 9,500 patients having been waiting for one year. Some people have been waiting up to four years.

It is clear that there is no proper co-ordinated regional approach to funding or staffing. The Mater hospital under the guidance of Professor David Keegan in collaboration with CHO 9 started a waiting list initiative prior to Covid. Through this initiative they have managed to drastically reduce the waiting list in the last two years, even through Covid. It is the only adult unit in this country to have achieved a reduction in figures this month in that there are only 94 people waiting. That is in sharp contrast to 4,885 people waiting in CHO 1. In CHO 5, which covers County Tipperary, there are 2,361 patients waiting. This is shocking and we need co-ordination. I salute Deputy Michael Collins who has his 90th bus going up to Belfast, the "Belfast or blind" bus, but we should not be having to do this. Surely we can deal with this and have it properly co-ordinated.

I thank the Deputy for his question and for raising the issue of ophthalmology. He is quite right that the numbers are very high. The figure of 2,361 in University Hospital Waterford in CHO 5 is correct. Currently there is a new theatre being fitted out in respect of ophthalmology. The Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, has also made available €350 million this year coupled with the €50 million already in place for the National Treatment Purchase Fund, NTPF, for waiting list initiatives. The details are being worked out at the moment. What the Minister is hoping to achieve is that anybody waiting six months by the end of this year will receive the treatment they need.