A GP working in Tallaght has said she received a response in January for a letter she sent to Tallaght Hospital in 2003.
Dr Siobhán Kierans said the referral process at Tallaght hospital was a “joke” and the problems showed the divide between public and private patients was widening.
She said the normal procedure was to send referral letters “again and again”, then to fax and finally to phone, with no guarantee of getting an appointment.