Frances Fitzgerald (Fine Gael)

Does the Minister have any reservations about the charge in the context of the deterrent effect of such charges on people who are most vulnerable from a financial and illness point of view? Is she concerned that we may end up spending more on the health budget because people will not look after themselves in the way they should and that they will end up in crisis? I acknowledge patients with diabetes are excluded, but we have mentioned other illnesses.

An bord snip nua made many recommendations and I take the Minister's point that Mr. Colm McCarthy recommended a more punitive prescription charge, but it would have been disgraceful if we had gone down that route because it would have had an enormous impact on individuals who had recently lost their jobs, the elderly and social welfare recipients on limited incomes. Mr. McCarthy recommended that €55 million be saved through transport scheme efficiencies among CIE companies and suggested that by merging various agencies such as Enterprise Ireland, FÁS and the IDA €87 million in savings could be generated. The Government, therefore, had choices in raising the sum of €24 million it proposes to generate under this legislation. It made the choice to target this group on medical cards with a prescription charge. With regard to decision-making, did the Minister have any reservations about targeting this group and the impact it could have from a health perspective?