Some 1,900 people have been treated under a Department of Health scheme to buy private medical treatment in Ireland or abroad for patients left on public waiting lists.
The €30 million National Treatment Purchase Fund was established in April.
The first referrals began in July for patients waiting more than 12 months for surgical procedures such as varicose veins, cataracts, hernias and gall bladders.
It is aimed at treating some 6,805 adults who in March this year had been waiting more than a year for treatment, and 1,500 children waiting more than six months.
According to the Minister for Health, Mr Martin, eligible patients could receive treatment in a matter of weeks, and he said the Government had provided an additional €31 million for 2003.
The fund will have the capacity to treat 400 patients a month in Irish hospitals and 200 in four British hospitals.
When the Estimates were announced in November with the biggest cutbacks in spending for 10 years, the allocation to hospitals suggested that beds might be closed next year.
At the time Fine Gael said this would be a "farce" at a time when the Government was flying people abroad to have treatment under the National Treatment Purchase Scheme.