In the Eye of the Storm

Find out what Brian Cowen thinks is in store for Ireland in light of the global financial crisis and the government's unpopular decisions on medical cards and education cuts.

Jason O'Toole, 06 Nov 2008

Surely, it must have been obvious it was going to be a PR disaster?

That was caused by the failure to properly communicate the fact that over 70% of pensioners would have been completely unaffected by the original proposal. Look, I quickly recognised that this proposal didn’t meet with wide public acceptance and I worked on a solution. But you have to recognise that the country next year, on day-to-day expenditure, will be spending €4,700 million more than what’s coming in, in taxes – that’s not a sustainable position. What we are trying to do, in the first instance, is stabilise the public finances and then – over a period of time – set out a strategy for economic recovery. So, while I’m trying to explain that we are living in very challenging and difficult times – and we are certainly not out of the woods yet either in relation to the banking and financial crisis or anything else – the fact is that this government under my leadership is prepared to make the necessary decisions. Decisions like that are not taken for any gratuitous purpose to offend anybody. They are being taken to bring order to our public finances as quickly as possible – whilst taking off the table far more unpalatable decisions that were being considered.

“Far more unpalatable suggestions” – what are they?

We simply had to find savings in the health area and – while there has been an increase in the budget for health – obviously there are ongoing costs that have to be reviewed. It’s a question of finding a balance. The general medical card scheme as it was structured would not be, in my opinion, sustainable in the longer term – therefore we had to take some measures to address that. We have also set up a committee, under a person who is well qualified in the area, to review all of the prescribing policies of GPs – and whilst obviously continuing to protect patient care – to address the question of escalating costs of drugs. The committee will study if the numbers and type of drugs that are being prescribed are all necessary or not. There will be an initial report on December 1 and I think the Irish Medical Organisation will agree that there is a lot of scope for savings in that area.

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