Hospital Waiting Lists
Dail Éireann — 2026-07-09
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Paula Butterly (FG), Louth

I thank the Minister for that information and join her in congratulating the Lourdes hospital for getting on top of the issue of waiting lists and for the good work all the staff are doing, led by the new general manager. It goes to show that when there is good management, will and the ability to reduce waiting lists, we can make progress. As the Minister pointed out, they are doing nearly 20% more elective surgeries than last year but the level of staffing is the same. While this is a great success story, I wonder if it is sustainable in the long term. It shows two things clearly. First, they are very efficient but, second, the need in the region is significantly higher than the current model accounts for. Lourdes hospital is a model 3, yet it is performing as if it were a model 4 hospital.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-07-09/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-14T01:01:07+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-07-09