100,000 fall in medical cards since 1997

THERE are 100,000 fewer medical cards issued than when the Coalition Government first came to power in 1997, the latest figures reveal.

Despite Government promises to increase the number of medical cards by 200,000, figures obtained by Labour health spokesperson Liz McManus show the number of cards has actually fallen by 101,279 to the lowest number since the scheme was first introduced more than 30 years ago.

The number of medical cards in 1997 was 1,252,385.