No health give backs in the budget

It will not be possible to reverse the €2.50 prescription charge or have any health "give backs" in the next Budget, Health Minister Leo Varadkar said yesterday.

He was speaking after a health consultative forum in Dublin, attended by 200 people from different health organisations.

A number of people attending the forum told the minister they were concerned that prescription charges were to blame for some people not taking all their medicines.