Sick and vulnerable ‘will bear brunt’ of €1.5bn cuts

THE sick and vulnerable will bear the brunt of the Government’s €1.5 billion cuts package, opposition leaders warned yesterday.

The charge came as Taoiseach Brian Cowen revealed a bigger squeeze on spending may yet be needed, but said he would try to “minimise” the impact on frontline services.

Fine Gael’s Enda Kenny accused Mr Cowen of conducting a “sacrilegious” raid on funding set aside to aid elderly people in care homes by delaying the Fair Deal scheme.