Nearly 18,000 people over the age of 75 have been on a hospital waiting list for at least 18 months.
That includes over 2,500 in University Hospital Limerick which serves North Tipperary.
In total, almost 87,000 people in this age-group are waiting for an inpatient or outpatient appointment, throughout the country.
Sinn Féin’s health spokesman, David Cullinane, says it’s a scandal.
“These figures are getting worse month on month. If you look at the wait times and the numbers of people waiting for treatment – particularly those over 75 – its increasing every month and its increasing every year.
“We don’t seem to be putting in place the resources, the capacity and the strategies to actually reduce wait times and to give hospitals – hospital management but also the staff – the resources that they need.”
