What two main parties plan to do for health

FINE GAEL’S HEALTH PACKAGE FOR CHILDREN:

(Full health measures from FG’s manifesto will be launched in the coming days)

■ Extend free GP care to all under-18s by 2025

■ Remove hospital charges for children in Budget 2021

■ Free dental care for under16s

■ A ‘baby box’ for every newborn (containing clothes, blankets, nappies and other essentials)

SOME OF FIANNA FÁIL’S HEALTH POLICY MEASURES:

■ Aim for four-hour target wait for emergency departments

■ Inject additional €2billion into the health budget over the next five-year Dáil term

■ 2,600 additional hospital beds

■ Increase the National Treatment Purchase Fund to €200million

■ Negotiate a new contract with consultants

■ Recruit as many as 4,000

additional nursing staff over the next five years

An additional five million hours of homecare support

Expand free GP care on the basis of means in line with Sláintecare’s goals and in alignment with an expansion in capacity