Cowen: A&E charges won’t hurt children

TAOISEACH Brian Cowen rejected claims children will suffer due to a sixfold increase in A&E charges.

Labour leader Eamon Gilmore said raising the fee for attending casualty to €100 in the budget had penalised the sick and the poor as he accused the Taoiseach of being out of touch. “The charge for attending an accident and emergency department in a hospital is now almost seven times what it cost in 1997, approximately €15. The charge for an overnight stay in a hospital has been raised to €75, three times what it cost in 1997.

“The threshold for the drug refund scheme has been increased to €100, over four times its cost in 1997. By any standards these are very substantial increases in taxation on illness because the only people eligible to pay these taxes are those who are sick, who need to get into hospital or who need drugs,” said.

Mr Gilmore said a family on €25,000 a year would not be eligible for a medical card and would face real problems finding the money to pay A and E charges if a child needed emergency treatment.

He said poor families would be pursued for the money by debt collectors working for the hospital, and demanded to know if that was fair during exchanges in Leaders’ Questions.

The Taoiseach insisted there had been no policy change in the budget and that healthcare was better than in 1997.

“It is fair that we ensure we continue to invest in the health service and provide expanded services, as we are doing.

“If people bring their children to the hospital they will be dealt with. They will be billed by the hospital administrator and will pay the bill in due course, as they pay other bills in their family or as part of other responsibilities,” he said.