Minister for Health James Reilly has the full support of every member of Cabinet, Minister for Public Expenditure Brendan Howlin claimed today.

Senior citizens are to protest outside the Dáil today against cuts in the Budget.

A cut to the Single Parent Tax Credit announced in the recent Budget is unfair and out-of tune with modern Ireland, Sinn Féin finance spokesperson Pearse Doherty TD said today.

Health Minister James Reilly says he has no intention of resigning.

Official budget measures of €666m at the Department of Health might not be enough to balance the books, according to senior sources in the department.

Fianna Fáil has said the Government is "in denial" about changing the discretionary medical card scheme.

The Department of Finance is strongly backing its minister’s assertion that budget plans to reduce tax relief for health insurance customers will only affect “gold-plated policies” — even though it has been dismissed by the industry.

The official health insurance regulator has said changes to the tax system in the Budget will affect more than two-thirds of all health insurance customers.

The leader of the main opposition party has accused the Government of lying over the medical card issue.

There were angry exchanges in the Dáil yesterday over the Government’s decision to reduce social welfare payments for the under 26s, with the Labour Party accused of reneging on its promise not to cut basic social welfare payments.

Health Minister James Reilly has again insisted that vulnerable patients are not losing discretionary medical cards — despite one in five held in 2011 no longer existing.

The HSE raised concerns 18 months ago over the accuracy of the PwC medical card report which is at the centre of controversial claims that €113m can be cut from the system.

A rallying call has gone out to elderly advocacy groups to gather the troops and start making banners for a massive protest in Dublin next week over budget cuts against elderly people.

The success or failure of any budget, if indeed success is defined as the achievement of the borrowing targets, is heavily influenced by the economic assumptions that underlie it.

Minister for Health James Reilly was today forced to defend his controversial decision in the Budget to review the provision of medical cards.

Minister for Health James Reilly has said that elderly people have nothing to be afraid of when it comes to a review of the medical card scheme.

Up to 100,000 people could lose their medical card under the governments plan to cut €666m from the Department of Health.

One in five people claiming unemployment benefit are non- Irish nationals from other EU countries — a quarter of them from Britain — according to a major report on the impact of unemployed migrants on social welfare budgets.

Health Minister James Reilly is under growing pressure to explain where massive budget cuts to the medical card scheme will fall amid fears that 100,000 people will lose the entitlement.

The elderly may be granted a special security allowance to pay for telephone costs linked to panic alarms following concerns raised about cuts in the budget.

Suspected dole cheats face on-the-spot arrest at airports and early morning roadside garda checkpoints after the Department of Social Protection announced plans to enlist around 20 gardaí to help in its Special Investigations Unit.

Health Minister Dr James Reilly has pushed blame for the €113m medical card cutbacks review away from his office, insisting that he was told to impose the move by central government.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has been accused of encouraging young people to emigrate following budget measures which will see dole cut for those under 26 years of age.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny is under pressure to reverse a cull of medical cards amid accusations that the budget targeted the elderly and most vulnerable.

A leading social protection group has claimed the Government’s budget numbers do not add up to scrutiny — and include an alleged €600m gap in calculations.

Schools may get extra teachers faster to meet rising enrolments and avoid what Education Minister Ruairi Quinn said is the unacceptable practice of having 35 children in some classes.

Ryanair is set to announce “a range of new routes” in the coming days to facilitate an extra 1m passengers as a result of the abolition of the air travel tax in the budget.

Social rights groups have turned up the heat on the Government, demanding some budget cuts be overturned.

There is no escaping the fact that two of the more vulnerable segments of Irish society — elderly citizens in their twilight years and jobless young people seeking work — have been targeted by Fine Gael and Labour in the 2014 budget.

What are you doing? What the hell are you doing?

Shame medical cards are being cut back because it sounds like Michael Noonan and Brendan Howlin could do with urgent treatment for their serious hearing problems.

Some commentators have greeted this year’s budget as ‘tough but fair’, citing some of the more positive measures as proof of the Government’s commitment to both economic recovery and social cohesion.

Alcohol industry representatives have described as “punitive” and “short-sighted” increases in beer, wine and spirits in Budget 2014.

Both the opposition and elderly groups have accused the Government of “savagely targeting” pensioners and putting them at risk in their homes as they won’t be able to use life-saving pendant security alarms — now the telephone allowance is to be cut.

Cuts introduced in the budget could result in the loss of up to 30,000 jobs, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions has estimated.

The health minister has warned that cuts to HSE funding for next year will be the biggest challenge Ireland's health system has ever faced.

Social Protection Minister Joan Burton in discussions with the Justice Minister to send 20 gardaí to her department.

Several aspects of yesterday's health budget could cause "significant distress to the most vulnerable patients", the Irish College of General Practitioners (ICGP) warned today.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has claimed cuts to young people’s dole payments will ultimately leave them better off.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has defended cuts in yesterday's Budget that will largely affect older people.

Cabinet members and the Taoiseach have defended a review of the medical card scheme that is aimed at saving €113m from the Health budget.

The Irish Cancer Society has said that a 10 cent increase in the price of cigarettes announced in yesterday's Budget is "tokenistic" and "hugely disappointing".

The decision to cut maternity benefit in yesterday's Budget is being described as "anti-women and anti-families"

Budget cuts surrounding the withdrawal of medical cards, removing the telephone allowance and death grants and slashing maternity benefit will dominate Dáil business today.