James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)

This motion is as simple as it is clear. It demands neither more nor less than a reversal of the decision to withdraw the over 70s entitlement to a medical card. The Government has lost touch with the people and misled its own backbenchers. It thought it could carry out this attack on the elderly under the guise of patriotism, when it was more like an act of terrorism.

The principle is simple; universal health care for everyone over the age of 70. For seven years those pensioners had universal health care. Those are the people who made this country what it is today, notwithstanding the Government's best efforts to undermine them. They raised us, nursed us when we were sick, protected us from violence, grew our food and ran a proud Civil Service. Are we to repay them by taking away something which was freely given by the then Minister for Health, Deputy Martin, and his Government in 2001? What is that Minister's view of the matter? I have not heard a single word from him since news of the Government's decision broke.

This decision is morally wrong and the people of the country know it. That is why the Church of St. Andrew on Westland Row was full to bursting this morning with anxious, worried and, now, angry pensioners and their families. That is why thousands will descend on this House tomorrow. The decision is penny wise but pound foolish. The Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Harney, told us that the annual cost of a medical card is €1,650. With the loss of their medical cards, many of those affected will attend their doctors less frequently than they should and may not take their medicines regularly. If they end up in hospital as a result, one day's care will negate any saving made to the Exchequer.

Professor Des O'Neill has mentioned the health gains made by the elderly since the introduction of the scheme in 2001. He does not insist that the health benefits are directly related but points out that the gains in the area of strokes and heart attacks have been substantial between 2004 and 2006. This begs the question of whether anyone in the Department of Health and Children has conducted a cost-benefit analysis on money saved by removing universal entitlement versus the cost to the Exchequer arising from ill health, attendance at hospitals and medications. Invariably, medications supplied in hospitals turn out much more expensive than those prescribed in general practice.

For the sake of €20 million, we are sacrificing the principle of universality in health care for the over 70s. What is next?

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