The HSE says it may have to make cuts to acute hospitals, after identifying a 100 million euro shortfall in next yearÂ’s health service plan.

The Health Service Executive has outlined its Service Plan for 2016, and says it plans to issue 50 thousand fewer medical cards.

Health Minister Leo Varadkar says the sector throws up a lot of challenges, but that it goes right 80 percent of the time.

Juliette Gash reports;

The Taoiseach's insisting there will be NO cuts to medical cards next year - despite HSE plans to reduce the numbers by 50,000 in 2016.

Enda Kenny was responding to reports that the HSE's service plan actually budgeted for a 125,000 reduction in the numbers with cards.

The Taoiseach says there'll be no changes whatsoever to the criteria by which someone can quality for a medical card - but the numbers will fall because more people will return to work: