Varadkar: Goal is 70 people on trolleys a day

The Minister for Health, Leo Varadkar, said he wants to reduce the number of people waiting on trolleys to an average of 70 a day.

His comments come as today's trolley watch figures from the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation show 413 people are currently waiting for a bed.

Leo Varadkar is appearing before the Oireachtas Health Committee to discuss the revised estimates for the cost of Health Service for this year.

Earlier, The Irish Times revealed that January was the worst month for overcrowding at emergency departments since the Government came to power, and the second-worst month ever.

This week overcrowding figures went over the 500 mark once more.

Minister Varadkar said he is committed to cutting those times, with a plan in place.

"We're looking to reduce the number of patients on trolleys in emergency departments waiting for admission for more than nine hours by one-third, to less than 70 on average," he said.

He also said the Department would cut waiting times to a maximum of 15 months by the end of the year.

"We're also committed to developing and implementing a plant to address waiting lists, with the focus on very long waiters.

"By the mid-year nobody should wait longer than 18 months for in=patient of day case treatment, or an outpatient appointment - with a further reduction thereafter to no greater than 15 months by year end."