Health Minister claims new charges will improve hospital service

The Health Minister says the new €40 charge for going to casualty will be an incentive towards the proper use of Accident and Emergency units.

The opposition is up in arms after Micheal Martin announced last night that the price of attending A&E is up by almost a third, from €31.70 to €40.

The Minister for Health says the fee will only be levied on those who turn up at casualty without a note from their GP. According to Minister Martin, the charge will provide hospitals with extra cash, as well as promoting the appropriate use of busy A&E units.

The threshold for the Drugs Payment Scheme has also gone up by 22%, which means people with big monthly medication bills will now have to pay the first €65. Fine Gael says the increases augur badly for the long promised reform of the health service.