Disability and medical cards a priority for Cowen

FINANCE Minister Brian Cowen yesterday indicated that medical cards and disability services will be top of the agenda for increased spending next year.

The minister gave his strongest indication yet that his plans will target socially inclusive measures, ahead of the publication on Thursday of the Book of Estimates for 2005.

Pledging to adopt a generous approach to medical cards, the minister said the issue is a priority for the Government, as is building upon the €2.5 billion being spent on disability services.

But the Book of Estimates will not contain the entire spending plans for next year as additional allocations for infrastructure will be outlined in the Budget on December 1.

However, the minister’s remarks were overshadowed by the revelation that the doctor appointed to be the head of the new Health Service Executive (HSE) would not be taking up the post. It later emerged that Professor Aidan Halligan’s appointment was never a done deal.

Despite a formal announcement on September 22 that he would be the new body’s chief executive, Prof Halligan did not tender his resignation from his job in Britain and had not signed any contract with the health authorities here.

He had also stipulated that one of his deputies should be allowed to move with him as his assistant in the new job but those arrangements were not finalised despite month-long negotiations.

Prof Halligan said he was declining the €400,000-a-year post for “family reasons”.

His withdrawal comes just six weeks before the HSE is due to replace the country’s 11 health boards and become the State’s largest employer with 100,000 staff.

IMPACT national secretary Kevin Callinan claimed the loss of Prof Halligan was further evidence that the HSE had underestimated the scale and complexity of the reforms involved. His union members are refusing to attend HSE staff briefings this week.