By Cillian Doyle.
A Waterford TD has launched a €914,000,000 plan to tackle the "scandalous" health waiting lists.
More than 850 thousand people are on HSE waiting lists.
The package of proposals aims to boost spending on the health service to shorten waiting lists and improve non-essential health care post-pandemic.
Tánaiste Leo Varadkar plans to boost funding for the health service heading into the winter months.
However, Speaking to Beat News, Waterford TD David Cullinane says that investments in the health service must happen now:
"The Tánaiste was thinking out loud at his parties Ard Fheis - and had indicated that the Covid expenditure that was allocated last year - which is worth about 2 billion euros to deal with Covid."
"That hasn't been expected by the Minister for Public Expenditure at that stage - what I'm talking about is that we need an investment right now."
Sinn Féin's Health Spokesperson added that waiting lists have been an issue long before the pandemic:
"Because of Covid over the last 15 months - a huge amount of non-essential healthcare was cancelled and because of that we know that there is a huge amount of miss care which is barrelling down on our health service - and have been long before Covid struck with staff crying out for additional support."
