New figures show almost 340,000 people are waiting for an appointment to see a consultant.
The number of people waiting more than a year has jumped from around 10,000 in January to almost 23,000 in April - 2,000 of whom are children.
The Health Minister James Reilly has previously stated that the HSE is reporting a net deficit of €158m.
Fianna Fail's Health spokesperson, Colm Keaveney, has hit out at the Government saying patients are suffering from cuts to services.