The Minister for Health has indicated that serious cutbacks in health spending are inevitable next year.
Mary Harney said the challenges facing the Government are immense and she urged a great national effort to tackle the crisis.
Speaking on RTÉ The Week In Politics, Ms Harney said the cutbacks were the result of the deteriorating economic situation.
Fine Gael has criticised the Government following the Health Minister's comments.
The party's finance spokesperson Richard Bruton said it was the Government's fault that it is unable to maintain funding during the downturn.
