Sir, - I would like to take issue with just one point in Dr Muiris Houston's otherwise excellent coverage of the Progressive Democrats' waiting lists initiative in your edition of September 26th.
Dr Houston suggested that our proposal would, at best, benefit only a minority of the patients on the public waiting list. This is not so. Our objective is the complete clearance of the waiting list and our proposal is designed to achieve exactly that. The proposal involves using spare capacity in the Irish private health system and provides an incentive for creating new capacity. It also allows for the use of spare capacity in Northern Ireland, Britain and elsewhere in Europe if necessary. I see no reason whatsover why the waiting list cannot be cleared completely.
It is time we learned to be ambitious in defining our political goals in this country. Long waiting lists are a scandal. We can rid ourselves of that scandal provided the political will is there to do it. - Yours, etc.,
Cllr Tim O'Malley, PD Health Spokesperson, Limerick.