Almost half of us has a medical card

Nearly half of the population is in receipt of medical cards as unemployment shows no sign of falling and austerity continues to swell the ranks of the working poor.

This year alone, full medical and GP-only cards are expected to cost the taxpayer €2.5bn in medical fees and drugs costs.

There are now 2m medical and GP-visit cards in use — a figure which starkly reflects the country’s 14.6% unemployment rate and the effects of taking €28bn in tax increases and expenditure cuts out of the economy since 2008.