Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

This Government has done something slightly different. We decided to increase the income limits by 10% for low-income families. Some 40,000 children with profound disabilities now get full medical cards as of right regardless of their parents' income. We have decided to increase the income limits for the over 70s in the budget just introduced. We also decided to give people on carer's allowance and carer's benefit access to free GP care because carers also need to have their health looked after. It is still an incremental approach by the previous Government and by this Government, but perhaps a different approach to that incrementalism.

I will answer the Deputy's question very frankly and I say this as a former GP, former Minister for Health and Taoiseach. If we provided free GP care for everyone tomorrow, next year, the following year or even the year after that, we would overwhelm primary care and general practice in Ireland.

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