There are now more than 46,000 adults and children on hospital waiting lists across the State, figures from the HSE show.
The Irish Hospital Consultants Association (IHCA) highlighted the new figures at a press briefing in Dublin today, pointing out that the waiting lists had increased by 16 per cent over the past year.
Dr Margot Wrigley, president of the IHCA, said the increase was as a result of theatre and bed closures, which were also contributing to increases in the numbers of patients having to wait on trolleys in hospital emergency departments.
"We are extremely concerned about a rapidly deteriorating situation," she said.
"If the Government is to put the safety of patients first it must reverse its planned further health cuts," she added.
In its prebudget submission the IHCA says funding must be set aside to halve these waiting list figures next year. It is also insisting there be no further cut in health spending next year. Over €1 billion was taken out of the national healthcare budget this year.
The HSE's latest waiting list figures show there were 15,206 adults and children on inpatient waiting lists and over 31,000 adults and children awaiting day case procedures in July this year.
More than half of those waiting - some 26,690 patients - are waiting 0-3 months for treatment, while over 11,900 patients are waiting 3-6 months. A further 6,496 are waiting 3-6 months, 1,153 are waiting 12-24 months and 151 are waiting more than 24 months.
In August last year HSE figures indicated there were 40,120 adults and children waiting for hospital treatment. A year on the numbers awaiting inpatient and day case treatment for more than three months has increased by over 1,000 while the numbers waiting 0-3 months for treatment has increased by more than 5,000.
Fine Gael's health spokesman Dr James Reilly said the new figures showing 46,400 patients are on waiting lists is the latest sign of the dysfunctional health service presided over by Health Minister, Mary Harney.
"The key measures of how our health service is performing paint a bleak picture. At 46,400 the number of patients on waiting lists for inpatient or day case care has climbed by over 5,000 since last year," he said.
"The numbers will continue to grow as more and more services are slashed, theatres and wards are closed and financial measures bite," he added.
The National Treatment Purchase Fund, which buys private treatment for those waiting more than three months for surgery or a procedure in a public hospital, said it was waiting times rather than numbers waiting that are the better indicator of the efficacy of a health system.
"There has been no change to average waiting times for operations. The average waiting time across all specialties in the public system for surgical and medical procedures remains at a historical low of 2.5 months. This is a significant reduction from an average of two to five years since the establishment of the National Treatment Purchase Fund in 2002," it said.