asked the Minister for Health if the statement in paragraph 19 of the NESC report on major issues in health policy that the extension of the present limited eligibility scheme to the entire population is already the stated aim of the Government represents the policy of the present Government.

The policy of the present Government, which will be given effect to in April 1979, is to extend to the entire population the following services: (a) the full range of hospital in-patient services at public ward level, free of charge except for the charges to be made by hospital consultants; (b) subsidies towards the cost of private or semiprivate accommodation; (c) specialist diagnostic and treatment services on an out-patient basis in public hospitals, subject to the patients being responsible for payments to the consultants concerned; (d) refund of part of the cost of prescribed medicines.

Is not this a regression from the policy of the previous Government who, apparently, envisaged an extension of the general medical service to all members of the population?

I do not think the Deputy can expect any member of the general public to agree that this very considerable extension of the services which is coming into operation in April next is in any way a retrogression from the appalling and abysmal situation that prevailed during the term of office of my predecessor.

That is not the information I asked for. I asked the Minister whether his policy whereby he intends providing a limited service—not a free medical practitioner service—is a regression from the policy as stated in the ESRI report to which I am referring and which presumably was the policy of the previous Government since clearly it is not the policy of this Government.

It may have been an aspiration on the part of the previous Government but so far as they were concerned there was neither an attempt nor a possibility of implementing anything of the kind.

That was because the scheme was sabotaged.

Every attempt was made to implement it.

When I came into office I found generally a totally inadequate health service. The only real contribution to the situation so far as the previous Government were concerned——

Fianna Fáil have been in office for most of the lifetime of this State.

——was a savage and unprecedented cutback in the health services in 1976, the effects of which we are only now beginning to recover from.

(Cavan-Monaghan): Nonsense. There is a cutback in medical cards now the like of which was never known before.

It ill behoves members of Fine Gael or Labour to criticise any aspect of the health services.

The Minister is being propagandist. In what areas were there cutbacks?

The Coalition Government actually stooped to the level of cutting back in the area of meals on wheels.

Would the Minister agree that, although he may wish to extend the services, the Minister for Finance will not sanction the expenditure?

(Cavan-Monaghan): There is an unprecedented cutback in the number of medical cards.

The number is increasing.

(Cavan-Monaghan): Tell that to the marines.

The number increased during the term of office of Deputy Corish, too.

It is Lloyd George medicine.

Order.