The crisis of access manifests itself, in the main, through emergency admissions and the demand for accident and emergency services. It was no coincidence that in the last election the three largest parties in the State made proposals to deal with this problem. Each of them focused on the issue of medical cards. My party promised and remains committed to a GP service which is free to all. The proposal did not include free medicines, but free access to doctors for all patients. The latter would be appropriate and affordable. My only argument with the subsidised drugs scheme – which I, like anyone else in their fifties, use increasingly – is that it is harsh on single people on limited incomes. I have no difficulty with the scheme, in principle. The real problem is that limited access to an affordable primary care service is pushing people in the direction of hospitals.