At a time when "air quality" is the buzzword being used by the Government, why are we seeing a huge increase in the waiting times for respiratory outpatient appointments? Since last October, the waiting time for a respiratory appointment at University Hospital Galway has increased from 18 months to a whopping 42 months. Nationally, there are now 18,632 people waiting for a respiratory outpatient appointment, almost 5,000 of whom have been waiting for more than 18 months to be seen. Are these delays due to the escalating number of people developing long Covid? While we are talking about air quality, the resulting respiratory problems and the ongoing effects of long Covid, why are we not getting serious about tackling this waiting list problem? Why is the HSE not using the National Treatment Purchase Fund to address these appalling outpatient waiting times?

I do not know whether those numbers reflect long Covid and its impact on respiratory illness or just the ongoing reality that respiratory illness is a significant and acute health issue in our country, which in turn means we have to address the wider issue. However, I will ask the Minister for Health to try to provide an analysis as to why the queues have lengthened and whether it is possible to use the National Treatment Purchase Fund.