The Minister for Health has told the Dáil that tackling hospital waiting lists is "one of the biggest challenges in the health service" and that it is "a top priority" for the Government.
Stephen Donnelly said that "very significant action is required", adding that he will be bringing a Waiting List Plan to Government "very shortly".
During Priority Questions, he told Sinn Féin's David Cullinane that there was a 6% reduction in waiting lists last year, the Covid-19 pandemic notwithstanding.
Mr Cullinane replied that waiting lists are "going the wrong direction", with 165,000 people waiting over 18 months, a figure which "has quadrulped since Simon Harris was Minister [for Health]".
"This is a real, real crisis", he added.
Mr Donnelly said that he met with representatives of Crumlin, Temple Street and Cappagh Hospitals last week to tackle waiting lists for children.
He told Labour Party TD Duncan Smith that "final details" were being added to "a very ambitious but a very good plan" to ensure that children get treated promptly.
"We've got to solve it now", he added. "I'll shortly be able to share the details".
Asked by Mr Smith if he was confident that the plan would resolve the problem, the Minister said, "They are going to try their very best".
"There is a genuine nervousness and caution when CHI (Children's Health Ireland) are giving me these figures", he added.
The minister paid tribute to GPs for their work on the vaccination programme, saying they were "absolutely incredible".
And he acknowledged that waiting lists for GPs are a problem, especially in some lower incomes areas.
Mr Donnelly told Mr Cullinane that 120 GPs came out of training in 2009, but that this number rose to 233 last year.
However, Social Democrats co-leader Róisín Shortall noted that many of those newly qualified GPs are leaving the country because "they want to be doctors practicing medicine" rather than being "business people".
She said the business model used in this country is not meeting their needs.
Mr Donnelly accepted that younger GPs in particular were dissatisfied with the current model.
"Will you undertake, say within the next two to three weeks, to meet with the ICGP (Irish College of General Practitioners)?", she asked
"Yes, absolutely. I'd be delighted to", he replied, "in the next few weeks".
Minister of State Mary Butler said that, following the South Kerry CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services) review, the HSE does not expect to fill the consultant psychiatrist post in the short term.
She told Sinn Féin's Pa Daly that the HSE will soon be in touch with the 227 families of those affected to update them on moves to establish a long-term support unit in Killarney.
