A tax on alcohol which would help to fund health services should be introduced in the Budget, the Irish Hospital Consultants Association said yesterday. In a prebudget submission it said high levels of alcohol abuse imposed a major burden on hospital services.
It also called for measures to address what it termed the "profound shortage of Irish doctors". There was a need for an increased intake of Irish students into medical schools and for a cap on the number of non-EU students. It also called for the shortage of acute hospital beds to be addressed.
