THE Government must provide substantial funding to train up to 800 extra Irish doctors a year to tackle the escalating shortage of medical staff here, the Irish Patients’ Association insisted yesterday.

MONEY generated from increased taxation should be ring-fenced to meet the growing medical needs of Ireland’s ageing population, according to a leading geriatric consultant.

IRISH people have poorer health than most of their European counterparts, one of Ireland’s leading experts on public health has claimed.