The number of patients on hospital waiting lists in the State has dropped by 5,000 during the first half of this year, according to Department of Health figures.
The total number of patients now on waiting lists stands at 31,851.
Major inroads have been made into waiting lists in a number of specialities including cardiac surgery, gynaecology, orthopaedics and ophthalmology, the Department said.
The Minister for Health, Mr Martin, said the reduction reflected the additional resources and priority which had been given to tackling in-patient waiting lists.
He said the figures represented a "genuine" decrease of 2,485 persons on the waiting list between January and March, and a further 2,519 between March and June.
"This decrease is a continuation of a downward trend in waiting lists which I am confident will continue for the remainder of this year," he said.
The figures indicate that the most significant reduction in numbers waiting for treatment occurred at Galway's University College Hospital, where 899 people came off waiting lists over the past 12 months.
However, at Beaumont Hospital, Dublin, more than 1,000 people were added to waiting lists over the same period.
All major hospitals outside Dublin, including Cork University Hospital, Limerick Regional Hospital, Waterford Regional Hospital, Sligo General Hospital and Galway's University College Hospital, have seen a drop in their waiting lists between December 1999 and June 2000.
The numbers waiting for treatment at three Dublin hospitals - St Vincent's, St James's and the Mater - have also decreased.
Meanwhile, waiting lists at three other Dublin hospitals - James Connolly Memorial Hospital, Blanchardstown; Tallaght Hospital; and Beaumont Hospital - increased.
Mr Martin acknowledged that much more needed to be done to reduce the lists, and confirmed that he was meeting the Eastern Regional Health Authority last night to discuss what further work could be done. Some £34 million has been invested in the initiative this year.
"We know we have to invest more and also change procedures in terms of the waiting lists. At 31,000, even though it's a welcome change within six months, it's still too high a figure," he said.
The Minister added that waiting times also needed to be cut. "We need more success on that. We are not happy that we are getting the waiting times down as fast as we would want to," he said.
He added that adult waiting times for orthopaedics and surgery had been reduced and there had also been a reduction in waiting times for targeted children's specialities such as ENT (ear, nose and throat), ophthalmology, surgery and urology.
"But we are still some distance away from our target of a 12 months' wait for adults and six months for children," he said.
He hopes this target can be achieved within two to three years. "If we could do it faster, we would. There are infrastructural issues that have to be resolved in terms of extra theatre capacity and in terms of medical manpower.
"Those issues are fundamental to a proper, structured, ongoing, reduced waiting-time scenario in our health system."