Robert Dowds (Dublin Mid West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I remind Mr. Healy that I am awaiting a response on the CRC issue.

On the questions I put on the agenda, is the Minister or Minister of State able to say anything further on the question of the motorised transport grant and the mobility allowance? Obviously, there is some kind of review taking place of the new travel subsidy scheme. When will there be clarity in this area?

My second question related to the medical card situation, particularly discretionary medical cards. I understand there is no entitlement to a medical card based on having a particular disease or illness. If one has a particular disease or illness, there may be very considerable costs involved. Therefore, to what extent does the cost of looking after a person with such a disease or illness come into play in the determination of income? What is the position on somebody whose income is just over the threshold for entitlement to a card? In practice, if one has considerable medical expenses, it has a significant impact on one's ability to look after oneself.

My third question concerns the problem of people committing suicide very soon after their release from hospital. I appreciate that this is a very difficult area. Even trained psychiatrists can get it wrong when determining whether they believe somebody is vulnerable. Can the Department put figures on that? With regard to the appalling problem of suicide in general, is an attempt being made to learn from the experience of other countries' approaches to it?