The overall number of patients on hospital waiting lists across the State fell slightly in the three months to the end of June, according to figures from the Department of Health.
The figures indicate that there were 589 fewer people on waiting lists at the end of June, a drop of 2 per cent since March.
However, the figures indicate that the in-patient waiting lists at some hospitals have increased significantly between March and June. The biggest increase was at Mayo General Hospital in Castlebar where the waiting list increased by over 200 per cent.
But a drop in the waiting list at hospitals such as the Mater, where the waiting list has been cut by 4 per cent despite up to 100 beds being closed due to funding difficulties, are being attributed to the work of the National Treatment Purchase Fund, which purchases private treatment for those longest on waiting lists.
Other hospitals with closed beds also showed a decrease in their waiting lists. These included Beaumont, down 8 per cent and Tallaght, down 14 per cent. Day-case waiting lists, while down at many hospitals, showed a huge increase of 47 per cent at Waterford Regional Hospital.
Turning to waiting times, the figures show almost 4,000 adults are waiting two years or more for treatment. A quarter of these are on day-case waiting lists, and the majority are waiting for treatment in hospitals in the Eastern Regional Health Authority area.
A further 348 children are on inpatient or day-case waiting lists for two years or more. More than half them are waiting for treatment at Our Lady's in Crumlin.
The figures do not include those who wait years to see a consultant for the first time so they can be put on a waiting list.
Labour's health spokeswoman, Ms Liz McManus, said the 2 per cent reduction in numbers on waiting lists was pitiful given Fianna Fáil's election promise to permanently end waiting lists by the middle of next year.
Meanwhile claims by the Irish Nurses' Organisation that the A&E unit of the Mater Hospital was so grossly overcrowded yesterday that it was "out of control" and a risk to life were last night categorically rejected by hospital management.
The INO said there were 31 patients on trolleys awaiting beds. Last night the hospital said the number waiting had dropped to 20. It described the INO's comments as "very unhelpful" at a time when the hospital was gearing up to reopen beds and recruit additional nursing staff following a period of financial cutbacks.