Who is going to pay for Sinn Féin’s health plans?

Fine Gael TD for Cork South Central, and Chairperson of the Oireachtas Committee on Health, Jerry Buttimer, has asked who exactly is going to pay for Sinn Féin’s health plans?
“It’s great that Sinn Féin are supporting Fine Gael’s model of Universal Health Care, but what they fail to tell us is who exactly is going to pay for their plans.
“Sinn Féin say that the most effective way to fund health reform is through taxation and PRSI contributions. But who will be taxed more and by how much?
“In their plan they propose introducing free GP care for all, commencing with lower income households. But does this mean they would take free GP cards back from the under 6’s and over 70’s who already have them and who don’t come under whatever income threshold they introduce?
“Sinn Féin claim that people would be better off in their pockets under their health plans, but this is simply not true for almost half of the population. Sinn Féin plan to cancel the relief on private health insurance. This tax relief of 20% on the cost of health premiums currently benefits 46% of the Irish population and can be worth several hundred euro to families across Ireland.
“Fine Gael has a long term plan to keep the recovery going. Our plan will deliver more new jobs and affordable, sustainable improvements in services. This Government is already making important practical reforms and getting projects over the line and we will continue to do this. We have introduced GP care without fees for the oldest and youngest in our society on a universal basis, as the first concrete step to universal healthcare.
“Fianna Fáil threw money at health but implemented no real reforms. Sinn Féin now want to follow suit. It’s simple, Sinn Féin’s health plans will cost families hundreds of euro through taxation and lost tax reliefs and could even result in those who already have free GP cards losing them.”