Sandra McLellan (Cork East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State indicated that applications for medical cards are processed speedily in many cases but we encounter the problematic ones. It is impossible to get onto somebody in order to deal with an issue. We need to have access to somebody to discuss the problem over the telephone but the back and forth e-mails are driving everyone berserk because they are no use. We need to be able to speak to a person who can give us an answer. It need not be the right answer; it could be any answer but we need be able to discuss it with somebody. We should get not a different person giving the standard answer every time we pick up the telephone. We are going around in circles at the moment.