Up to 400,000 people will have to wait another couple of weeks for medical card eligibility

HSE CEO, Bernard Gloster, said there are now around 200,000 discretionary medical cards issued to people who do not meet the income levels. File picture

The deadline for expansion of the medical card scheme to include up to 400,000 additional people has been pushed back to the end of this month, the Oireachtas Health Committee heard on Wednesday.

The expansion was promised in the Budget and had been expected to be in place in early June giving more people on low incomes access to these vital services. However, GPs have said there are not enough doctors in place to offer this all at once.