Sinn Féin's health plan includes extra €4bn spend, largest ever medical card expansion

James Cox

Sinn Féin has said every household would get free prescription medications if its voted into Government.

The party is pledging to deliver 5,000 hospital beds with the aim of completely eliminating the use of hospital trolleys.

It is also promising the largest ever expansion of the medical card scheme in an overall plan which would cost over €4 billion more than is currently spent on health.

The plan also includes the State directly employing hundreds of GPs to deal with the national shortage. It promises progress on the public GP contract would be made within its first 100 days in office.

Sinn Féin health spokesperson David Cullinane said the money needs to be spent.

Mr Cullinane told Newstalk: "We went from having a trolley crisis that was a winter trolley crisis, to an all-year round trolley crisis.

"We've had promises that were made to children with scoliosis and spina bifida that were not met. We have children with disabilities who can't access assessments of need or basic services.

"Our plan is an additional €3.6 billion in the Department of Health over five years. That's necessary if you want to put the beds in the system, if you want to hire the staff that we need."