The implementation of the new the Waiting Time Action Plan (WTAP) 2026 will be overseen by the waiting list task force.

Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill said the WTAP, which was published on Friday 30 January, “is a multi-faceted approach with one overarching aim, to ensure people get access to faster care and achieve better health outcomes.”

According to the document, the governance structure of the WTAP 2026 “will broadly” follow the model and principles developed for previous action plans, with oversight of its implementation conducted through the task force.

The task force, co-chaired by the Department of Health Secretary General and the HSE CEO, will be comprised of senior representatives from the Department, the HSE Centre and Regions and the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF).

“It will report directly to the Minister for Health, with whom issues will be escalated as required,” reads the plan. “The WTAP 2026 also falls under the broader umbrella of Sláintecare reforms in relation to improving access to care and progress reports will continue to be provided to the Sláintecare Programme Board for discussion at their meetings,” according to the plan.

Minister Carroll MacNeill said: “In order to reduce waiting times we need to see more activity that results in patients receiving care, particularly those waiting the longest. As detailed in the action plan, this will be achieved through a combination of measures including service reforms and innovation; increased productivity and improved performance; investment in infrastructure and staffing; embracing digital solutions; and supplemented by targeted additional capacity via the NTPF.”

According to the Department the WTAP sets out six overarching and interconnected targets, which will be achieved through the delivery of 36 actions under the themes of “reforming planned care”, “enabling planned care” and “capacity optimisation”.

Targets in the WTAP include:

Sláintecare wait time targets: 50 per cent of patients to be waiting less than the Sláintecare wait time targets of 10 weeks for outpatient (OPD) appointments and 12 weeks for inpatient and day case (IPDC) procedures; and 65 per cent of patients to be waiting less than the Sláintecare wait time target of 12 weeks for GI scopes. 

Weighted average wait time: Reducing the weighted average wait time to < 5.5 months for OPD and IPDC and to < 3.5 months for GI scopes.

Patients waiting less than 12 months: 90 per cent of patients to be waiting less than 12 months for first access to OPD services.

The number of long-term residential care (LTRC) beds and home support hours provided to the older population will need to increase by at least 60 per cent by 2040, according to a new Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) report.

Even at the lower end of the projections, the report highlights that “substantial increases” in LTRC beds and home support hours for older people will be required.

The research, funded by the Department of Health, considers a range of scenarios based on varying assumptions about population growth and ageing, the effects of healthy ageing and policy choices.

The projected rise in LTRC and home support requirements is largely driven by the increase in size of the older population.

In 2022, there were an estimated combined 33,324 short stay and long stay beds in LTRC homes. Of these one in eight beds in residential care homes were used for short-term care, such as step-down care following discharge from hospital and rehabilitative care. A further seven in eight beds in residential care homes were for long stay care, with the majority of these beds used by residents funded through the Nursing Home Support Scheme (commonly known as Fair Deal).

According to the new report, short-stay bed requirements are projected to grow from 3,745 beds in 2022, to between 6,430 to 7,265 beds by 2040, growth of between 72 to 94 per cent. Long-stay bed requirements are projected to grow from 29,579 beds in 2022, to between 47,590 to 53,270 beds by 2040, growth of between 61 to 80 per cent.

“Ireland has experienced tremendous improvements in life expectancy in recent decades, driven mainly by reductions in mortality at older ages,” said Dr Brendan Walsh, Senior Research Officer at the ESRI and lead author of the report.

“This means there is, and will be a much larger population at older ages who require long-term care services to support them at home, or within residential facilities. Therefore, plans and policies are needed for long-term care to ensure the health system is in a position to meet the increasing care needs of the older population. Our findings provide policymakers with an important evidence base to help develop these plans and policies.”

Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill and Minister for Older People and Housing Kieran O’Donnell, “welcomed” the report.

“I thank the ESRI for this report…it will help us plan better and be better prepared to respond to the challenges we face in meeting the needs of our growing and ageing population,” said Minister Carroll MacNeill.

“The 2025 Programme for Government promises to build more public nursing home beds, create a homecare scheme to help people stay in their homes longer, and increase home care hours.

“We are already making progress in increasing both residential care capacity and home support hours for our older population. This is shown by the €4 million allocated in Budget 2025 to staff and open 615 new community beds. The Department of Health and the HSE are also working on a new long-term residential care additional capacity plan, to be published in 2025.”