Fianna Fáil tells Health Minister to 'get a grip' as 42,000 children wait for outpatient appointments

The Health Minister Simon Harris has been told to "get a grip" over hospital waiting lists for children.

Fianna Fáil says almost 42,000 children have been left waiting for outpatient appointments in Dublin hospitals.

They said that 35% are waiting for over a year.

The party's John Lahart says that reflects badly on today's announcements about the National Development Plan.

He said: "The impression is that everything is rising in this country, not just economically but right across the spectrum, but it's not applying in health.

"We have a modern, wealthy country where 42,000 children are still waiting for outpatient appointments, 15,000 of them waiting for over a year, 500 in Dublin waiting for over 18 months."