Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The prescription charge is €1.50. Many pensioners are on medication and use six to nine items a month. The Government might not have cut the old age pension but through this measure alone it is taking approximately €20 off them - €19.50 - as a result of the prescription charge. The Government fulfils its election rhetoric by saying that core rates will not be changed but it gets people in other ways. It is a completely cynical approach.

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