Over 86,000 children are currently on waiting lists to see a hospital specialist.
The "hidden figures" revealed in today's Irish Independent are almost twice as many reported in the government's official figures.
The government numbers only account for the three children's hospitals in Dublin, and not those where children are counted along with adults.
Fianna Fail's Health spokesperson Stephen Donnelly says it's sickening to hear that 86,000 children are on waiting lists:
Deputy Donnelly says "I've been 2 years in the health brief and it is soul-destroying.
The idea that there is 86,000 children around the country just waiting to see a specialist is sickening.
It's not the country we should be living in"
