Sinn Féin spokesperson on Health, David Cullinane TD, has strongly criticised the government’s Health Budget 2025 as “lacking vision, hope, urgency, and transparency.”
Deputy Cullinane said that Budget 2025 was an opportunity to inject new energy into the delivery of universal healthcare, but that the coalition fell far short of a meaningful budget in health.
Teachta Cullinane said:
“After five years of chaotic budgets, the coalition government is limping towards the finish line in health.
“They are going out with a whimper, and a paltry health offering that will not move the dial on long waiting lists, chaotic emergency departments, or the many crises across healthcare from access to GPs, mental health services, or children’s healthcare, whether for disabilities or spinal surgery.
“The Minister for Finance spoke about hope – but his budget offers no hope to the person on a trolley, the child with scoliosis, or the older person isolated at home. The government’s bluster about €3bn for health failed to acknowledge that half of this was to cover the underfunding deficit they created last year, and most of the rest was standstill money for inflation and demographic pressures.
“Today was an opportunity to set out a vision for health. It was a test of this government’s commitment. They failed that test.
“The government delivered less than half a percent in new developments funding for the health service this year – just €120m.
“This will not cover half of the measures promised in the budget document itself, and does not cover the €30 million specified for new medicines and to fund strategies. The document outlines no target for savings, making this a completely dishonest sleight of hand with no evidence that there is any funding for these measures. There is a complete lack of transparency in this budget.
“This government has not delivered an expansion of medical cards for ordinary workers. The medical card eligibility threshold, at this point, is far, far removed from the original intent, and is lower than many social protection payments.
“Sinn Féin would have used this budget and the record surplus to deliver real change in Health. We would have used today to set Ireland on a path to universal healthcare, because unlike Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil, that’s something that we genuinely believe in.
“Sinn Féin would have delivered 150,000 medical cards today to support ordinary families. We would have cut the maximum monthly cost of medication by €30, to €50 a month, for every single household.
“Sinn Féin set out €984m in funding measures for the health service in 2025 to tackle overcrowding in our hospitals, to expand access to GP and primary care, to cut costs for workers, and to deliver funding certainty for national strategies for cancer, stroke, women’s health, and more.
“Crucially, we would have set aside ringfenced funding for delivering an ambitious digital transformation plan to bring the paper and pen health service into the 21st century.
“This is a government devoid of vision, whose time is thankfully coming to an end. In the coming weeks, Sinn Féin will publish our fully costed, comprehensive 5-year plan for health. The government has had five years to develop and implement a plan, but it’s clear from the budget this year and last that they are completely out of ideas and out of touch.
“Sinn Féin has a plan to take big bold steps towards Universal Health Care, to bolster capacity to improve access and patient safety, to address our long waiting lists and to invest in mental health services and disabilities. Five years on, the government has completely failed to move the dial on health.”
