The head of the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) GP Committee says many of his members may not be able to afford to run the free care scheme for children under-6.

Yesterday it was revealed that General Practices will have to opt in to participate in the scheme.

It had previously been thought that the scheme was compulsory and all GPs would be automatically signed up.

In a statement yesterday, the IMO GP Committee said strongly criticised the Minster for Health on the issue. It said that the Minister was being "arrogant by implying that he can simply dictate the terms of a revolutionary change in GP services without even discussing the issue with the IMO as the representative body for GPs".

The Minister was speaking Tuesday night to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health.

The Committee said that the Minister "was courting disaster" by pressing ahead with the extension of GP visit cards to children in an unplanned, un-coordinated way.

Dr. Ray Walley of the IMO GP Committee told Breakfast here on Newstalk that the €160 million in cuts to GP funding means many doctors may not be able to afford it.