Louth patient waiting almost 12 years for ophthalmology appointment PQ reveals

A Louth patient has been waiting nearly 12 years to see an ophthalmologist according to new figures revealed through parliamentary questions.

Sinn Féin spokesperson on Health, David Cullinane TD, has called on the Minister for Health to publish a dedicated waiting list plan for primary and community care, warning that the waiting list crisis is not confined to hospitals.

Deputy Cullinane raised the issue during questions with the Minister for Health after receiving parliamentary question responses showing serious delays across primary and community care services.

He said that more than 280,000 people are waiting for initial appointments across primary care services, including physiotherapy, occupational therapy, psychology, speech and language therapy, audiology, dietetics, ophthalmology and podiatry, with some waiting hundreds of weeks for an appointment.

Deputy Cullinane said one Ophthalmology patient in Louth has been waiting 617 weeks for an appointment

“The crisis in waiting lists is not just in hospitals. It is also in primary and community care where children and adults are waiting far too long for assessments, interventions, and therapies.

“There are now more than 280,000 people on primary care waiting lists for initial appointments. That includes 86,000 waiting for physiotherapy, 60,000 for occupational therapy, 34,000 for psychology, 32,000 for speech and language therapy, 24,000 for audiology, 22,000 for dietetics, 20,000 for ophthalmology and 8,000 for podiatry.

“These are essential services. If people cannot access care in the community then their conditions worsen, families are left to cope alone, and pressure moves back into hospitals, emergency departments, and disability services.

“Some of the long-waiting figures I received through parliamentary questions are truly shocking. A person waiting for dietetics in Longford Westmeath has reportedly been waiting 709 weeks. Someone in Louth waiting for ophthalmology has been waiting 617 weeks. There are several people across Dublin waiting over 500 weeks for psychology appointments. A person in Galway has been waiting 534 weeks for occupational therapy.

“I raised these figures directly with the Minister for Health during priority questions. They are a serious scandal. These figures are hard to believe.

“Sinn Féin are calling for a dedicated primary and community care waiting list plan, backed by a clear workforce strategy, monthly reporting, and new maximum waiting time targets, just as we have for hospital appointments.

“All waiting lists should be transparently published together every month, including primary care, community care and diagnostics, so the public can see the full picture. These lists should be published with the same prominence as acute hospital waiting lists.

“The Government cannot fix hospital overcrowding while allowing community services to collapse. The Government must take these waiting lists seriously; train, recruit and retain more therapists and clinicians; expand capacity in primary care; set maximum waiting times; publish the data; and hold the system accountable for delivery.”

Minister for Health, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill said there has been a reduction in some waiting lists, however, acknowledged there has been an inconsistency with others.

“If I look at the waiting lists from May 2025 to 2026, for example, there has been a reduction of nearly 7,000 people on the audiology list. There has been, however, an increase of nearly 3,000 people on the occupational therapy list. There is an inconsistency there.

There has been some progress is some areas, which is great, but none in others. If I look at the number of people waiting more than 39 weeks for audiology compared with May 2025, there has been a considerable reduction. In occupational therapy and psychology, there have been significant increases, while in physiotherapy, there has been a decrease. It is not just the postcode that matters but the specialism as well,” she said.