The Government has been urged to issue a further 250,000 medical cards and to provide regular health checks for the entire population as part of the national pay talks.
Both measures have been proposed by the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) to the ICTU, which has tabled them as part of the health input into the talks.
The IMO chief executive, Mr George McNeice, said yesterday that although there were 1.2 million people in receipt of medical cards, there were still families excluded from the general medical scheme who could not afford to go to a doctor.
Under the 1989 agreement between the doctors and the Department of Health to establish the scheme, it could be expanded to cover up to 40 per cent of the population before a renegotiation was required. Currently, just 32 per cent of the population is covered by the GMS.
"There are still a large number of people who are on the margins, with young families, who find it too expensive to go to their GP," Mr McNeice said. "We are saying they should share in the spoils of the Celtic Tiger."
The IMO is also urging the Government to move beyond funding the GMS, which Mr McNeice said was a "sickness scheme". The doctors want the Government to fund regular health checks for the population.
Such a programme would incorporate screening for specific health risks, as well as regular lifelong health education and advice for everyone.