Reilly: Card cuts won’t pay for free GP care

Health Minister James Reilly has vowed he won’t slash discretionary medical cards in order to pay for free GP care for under-fives.

The Irish Medical Organisation recently raised concerns discretionary medical cards were being removed by stealth in order to fund a budget “sweetener” of free primary care for small children.

However, Mr Reilly said: “I don’t believe the facts support that. We now have more medical cards than we ever had in the history of the State, at over 1.8m.”