The Minister of Health, Mr Micheál Martin, today welcomed the commencement of the National Treatment Purchase Fund (NTPF) which will see public patients treated in private hospitals.
The move is part of the Government's plan to reduce waiting lists. It is understood that a number of patients have already begun receiving treatment in Dublin hospitals.
It is expected that 100 patients will be treated throughout the State in private hospitals in the coming weeks.
The Fund is concentrating on public patients who are waiting for more than one year and children waiting more than six months.
Mr Martin said: "We expect the initiative will be rolled out to hospitals around the country in due course."
He said: "The National Treatment Purchase Fund is an example of how our health system can be improved when the many different facets of the medical community come together in the patient's interest."