Howlin: Health budget decisions will be based on what we can afford

The Minister for Public Expenditure has warned that decisions about the budget for health next year have to be affordable.

Speaking at the Labour Party "think-in" in Wexford, Minister Howlin claimed the budget problems in health are not unique to Ireland.

"We need to, obviously, make decisions that we can afford," Brendan Howlin said. "there are health issues in every single country – last week, I had discussions with my French counterpart, and they have exactly the same issues to address."

Howlin's comments came after Health Minister Leo Varadkar sought no cut in the health budget in 2015 - which would be an effective increase because of over-runs of half a billion euro this year.