The head of the Health Service Executive (HSE) has admitted waiting list targets are too ambitious. It follows the publication of their Service Plan for 2015 yesterday - which aims to reduce the time it takes to see a hospital consultant to under a year by the end of 2015.

According to reports, nearly 50,000 patients are currently waiting more than a year for an appointment.

And Tony O'Brien has told the Irish Independent that the average waiting time could even rise.

"At this stage the one-year target looks like a stretched target,", he told the paper.

"Our focus in 2015 is to have the longest waiters seen first. We have taken that approach and it has been successful. We also want to reorganise to see a higher proportion of new rather than return patients."

There has been criticism of the plan from interest groups and politicians alike.

The National Association of General Practitioners (NAGP) has described the amount of funding set aside for free GP care for under-6's and over-70's as "delusional and unrealistic".

According to the plan, €25m will fund free GP care for under-6's and €12m for over-70s.

While Sinn Féin's health spokesperson Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin described the plan as "wholly inadequate".

"There are now 50,000 outpatients on waiting lists for more than a year. There is nothing in this so called National Service Plan that reassures me that these numbers can be significantly reduced in the short term," he said.

"Fair Deal continues to be underprovided for, leading to families stretched to breaking point and delayed discharges, yet this plan only offers the already announced €25m," he added.