€161m hike in public health scheme funding

THE State, last year, paid €1.43 billion to doctors, pharmacists, dentists and eye experts under a range of public health schemes.

With a stiff increase of €161 million over the previous year, the cost reflected an increasing and ageing population, the General Medical Services (Payments) Board claimed yesterday.

The board said 2.65 million people were registered as eligible for benefit in 2003 compared with 2.58 million in 2002.