Opposition parties have criticised the draft programme for government published today.
Sinn Féin said the proposals for the healthcare sector were ‘vague’ and ‘lacked vision’.
The party’s spokesperson for health David Cullinane said the draft document "lacks the funding and efficiencies needed to drive reform".
Mr Cullinane said this was "not a serious plan and it lacks specifics, commits to endless reviews and considerations and is a rinse and repeat of measures previously committed to and not delivered".
On achieving safe staffing levels in the sector, he said "the programme contains no specifics or timeframes".
"It commits to expanding Free GP places for all children to at least 12 years old despite legislating for this years ago and not delivering. The Programme for Government commits to considering further reductions in the Drugs Payment Scheme and seeks to further increase medical card income limits.
"This is laughable if it was not so serious. Considering cutting costs stands in stark contrast to Sinn Féin's plan to provide free prescription medicines for all and full medical cards for all those who currently hold a free GP card," he said.
'Tinkering around the edges'
The Social Democrats said the draft programme for government lacked ambition and amounted to "tinkering around the edges with more failed FF and FG policy".
The party's acting-leader, Cian O'Callaghan said the incoming government would "bring the country backwards not forwards".
"The incoming government needs to be ambitious for the country and committed to transformational change in a whole range of areas - housing, healthcare, disability services, climate action and childcare," he said.
"In fact, it's very difficult to see any input from the Rural Independents in this document, which appears to be a crude collation of the Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil manifestos. The fingerprints of Independent TDs are notably absent, with more apparent focus on junior ministerial positions than policy proposals," Mr O'Callaghan added.
Concerns over 'regressive government'
Labour’s Marie Sherlock said her party has concerns over "some of the stances previously taken by some independents on climate and migration".
She said: "There are real concerns that there is potential for this to be the most regressive government in quite a while because of the stances of some of those who will now be participating."
She her party would hold the new government to account on "housing, on disability, on health on climate".
'Abject failure'
People Before Profit TD Richard Boyd Barrett described the programme for government as an "abject failure to offer solutions to the housing emergency and health crisis".
The annual target for new social housing has increased just marginally from 10,000 to 12,000 homes, far below what is required to begin addressing the housing emergency.
He said: "Critically there is no plan to significantly increase state capacity to build social and affordable homes, meaning that the government’s housing targets are completely aspirational."
Mr Boyd-Barrett said there were "no meaningful commitments to control rents which are completely out of control" and that on health the programme "fails to include a commitment to abandon the ‘pay and numbers’ recruitment embargo in the health service or to implement safe staffing levels".
He said it was "deeply concerning that the commitment to implement the Occupied Territories Bill is very vague, as are commitments for other sanctions against Israel".
