448. Deputy Martin Daly asked the Minister for Health the number of patients from counties Roscommon and Galway referred to the National Treatment Purchase Fund in each of the past three years and to date in 2026, broken down by speciality, in tabular form. [52476/26]

The National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) works with public hospitals, as opposed to with patients directly, to offer and provide the funding for treatment to clinically suitable, long waiting patients who are on an Inpatient/Daycase or Outpatient waiting list.

Treatments are commissioned for patients on public hospital waiting lists in public hospitals (insourcing) and private hospitals (outsourcing).

Outsourcing enables patients to be treated in Private Hospitals where capacity has been procured through NTPF tendering processes.

Insourcing is where the NTPF provides funding directly to a public hospital for IPDC treatment or OPD consultations. The hospital must confirm that the activity is outside core activity and is additional to HSE funded activity.

In relation to the specific query raised the NTPF has provided the attached table in relation to patients on waiting lists in hospitals in Galway and Roscommon.

PQ 5247626 Galway and Roscommon 2023 to 2026.xlsx