Eamon Gilmore (Dún Laoghaire, Labour)

Following the budget statement yesterday, the Minister for Health and Children announced increases in charges for accident and emergency departments and overnight stays in hospital and an increase in the threshold for the drugs payment scheme. Why were those increases not contained in the budget statement made by the Minister for Finance yesterday? Are there any other little increases in charges likely to be made by other Ministers and which were not in the budget statement?

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