€113m medical card savings not ‘target but estimate’

The €113m savings sought through “medical card probity” announced in the budget is not a target but an estimate of what can be achieved, according to the HSE chief executive, Tony O’Brien.

He confirmed that the Government has granted a further 10-day extension to provide its service plan for 2014, saying that devising where the cuts will fall has been “more complex” than in previous years.

Mr O’Brien, who has cast doubt over the possibility of reaching €113m through finding waste in the medical card system, once again distanced himself from the figure.