FOUR areas of priority in the health service were identified in the Budget, writes Alison O'Connor, Health Correspondent. In all, an additional £25 million was provided. People with mental handicap are to receive an extra £10 million in services.
In the Book of Estimates, £2 million had been announced and a further £10 million was announced yesterday, while childcare services will receive an additional £5 million.
The national cancer strategy will receive £6 million this year. The hospital waiting lists initiative continues, with an allocation of a further £4 million, bringing the total in 1997 to £8 million.
The Irish Hospital Consultants' Association (IHCA) said it was disappointed that the Minister's statement had "glossed over" the problems in the practical delivery of health services, while the Fianna Fail spokesperson on Health, Ms Maire Geoghegan Quinn, said the allocation for waiting lists would not be adequate.