New figures show almost 340,000 people are waiting for an appointment to see a consultant. 23,000 of these people have been waiting over a year.

The Health Minister James Reilly has previously stated that the HSE is reporting a net deficit of €158 million.

Fianna Fail's Health spokesperson has hit out at the Government - Colm Keaveney says patients are suffering and he is concerned about the waiting times.

“Very concerned in that the HSE and the minister have now confirmed that there is a deficit of 158 million over-run in this year’s budget, and that is going to compound significantly waiting times for people who are critically ill,” Deputy Keaveney said.

“Very concerned about the fact that there are over two thousand children waiting over twelve months for a key appointment in an acute service,” Keaveney added.