Monday, October 20, 2008
TAOISEACH BRIAN Cowen yesterday said the plan to restrict access to medical cards for the over-70s will not proceed in its current form.
However, he said universal access to medical cards was not sustainable and signalled that the Government would instead examine a further widening in eligibility thresholds.
In an interview with RT's This Week programme, Mr Cowen appealed for "time and space" to allow the Government Read the rest of this entry »
Taoiseach Brian Cowen last night lost his second government TD over the
medical cards fiasco as the Budget fallout further eroded his Dail majority.
And the departure of Finian McGrath could yet be followed by walkouts from
fellow independents Michael Lowry and Jackie Healy-Rae, as the unsinkable
coalition put together by Bertie Ahern begins to fall apart.
The exit of the independents would significantly boost the Green party’s Read the rest of this entry »
Last Updated: Monday, October 20, 2008, 11:41
FG, Green TD seek scrapping of medical card proposal
A Green Party TD has joined Fine Gael in rejecting the Taoiseach's pledge to reconsider the proposal to end universal provision of medical cards to over-70s and echoed the party's call for the measure to be scrapped.
Brian Cowen yesterday said the proposal would not proceed in its current form, which he said did not have "wider public acceptance". Read the rest of this entry »
Monday, October 20, 2008
HARRY McGEE, MARTIN WALL and MICHAEL O'REGAN
TAOISEACH BRIAN Cowen's appeal for "time and space" to find a solution to the medical card controversy has helped to quell a growing rebellion among Fianna Fil backbenchers.
Mr Cowen yesterday said the budget proposal to end universal provision of medical cards to over-70s would not proceed in its current form, which he said did not have "wider public acceptance".
In an Read the rest of this entry »