Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)

I move amendment No. 1:

In page 3, line 18, after "other" to insert "lesser".

As I said on Second Stage, this is a deliberately deceptive Bill. I emphasise that fact. The Bill's proponents and supporters point to the 50 cent per item charge and the €10 per month ceiling, but deliberately ignore the wording of section 1(1A) of the Bill, which states "or such other amount as may be determined by regulations made by the Minister under this section". The same phrase is repeated again in section 1(1B)(a).

Without question, this is the real meat of the Bill. We know that once these charges are introduced, they will be increased. There can be no question about that whatsoever. As sure as night follows day, there will be increases on the 50 cent charge per item and the ceiling of €10 per month within, no doubt, a reasonably short period of time. The amounts cited in the Bill are intended to be but the thin end of the wedge. The temptation is there, already excited by Mr. Colm McCarthy's statement of what is realisable in his opinion, and the opinion of others of like mind, out of the pockets of the most hard-pressed, deprived and marginalised sections of society. This is absolutely scandalous. While I am totally opposed to the Bill and the charges, if the Government is indeed determined to ram it through, it should at least guarantee that the charges will not be increased and that any change by ministerial regulation will be to reduce them or abolish them altogether.

This is the purpose of my amendments which insert the word "lesser" after "other". In other words, section 1(1A) would state: "or such other lesser amount as may be determined by regulations made by the Minister under this section." The purpose of the amendment is to restrict any change in this charge in the future to either a lesser amount than 50 cent or its abolition. In that event, the worst case scenario that will present with the Bill being forced through here this evening is that the charge will be 50 cent and cannot be greater. This is the challenge facing the Government and the Government backbenchers in particular. They have stated time and again, as has the Minister as I mentioned on Second Stage, that this charge is a modest charge. Let us retain this modesty and ensure we are not looking at something greater than 50 cent and the €10 ceiling per month at some point in the not too distant future.

Let us now follow through on the logic of the Minister's argument about a modest fee and on what Government backbench spokespersons are saying in their constituencies and in local interviews in the print and broadcast media. Let us test that now and let us hold the charge at what it is. We should only facilitate any future change that will either abolish or reduce the 50 cent sum. We must not leave the section open, as the current wording of the legislation does, for the Minister to introduce multiples of 50 cent as a charge on prescription items in the future.

I note from reviewing past contributions that the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Gormley, who was the Green Party spokesperson on health in the previous Dáil, has defended the charges on the basis that they are "modest". The Green Party and Fianna Fáil should follow through on this and ensure that we are not looking at a situation where this charge which is about to be introduced will end up in multiples in the not too distant future. I listened to the contribution of the Minister on Second Stage in which she mentioned a €24 million realisable return from the introduction of this charge in a single year. I have no doubt that the calculation in her head and in the Department of Finance, to which this matter will be entrusted in the future, is being made. Mr. Colm McCarthy spoke about a €5 flat charge per prescription item. That is ten times what is currently being proposed. Therefore, the sum is bound to be applied to the projected returns. I am sure ten times €24 million, €240 million, is a great temptation for the Government and the Department of Finance. The current thinking within the Government and the Department of Finance is that they should take the money from the pockets of the poorest, the most needy and the most dependent in Irish society. However, the Minister will be taking more than their money; she will be taking their entitlement to health. She will be absolutely breaking the resolve of these people on a range of different levels, even though many of them are already broken by the previous measures introduced by this Government.

Let there be no mistake about it - we must ensure this charge is restricted to this so-called modest amount and that there is no potential for the Minister or the Department of Finance, at any point in the future, to increase it and thereby impose further penalty on the most penalised and most in need in Irish society, that is, the 1.3 million people who are dependent on the medical card. I commend the amendments to the House. I appeal for the support not only of Opposition voices but also of Government voices. If Government Members consider these amendments to be worthy of their support, let them state clearly that they will not contemplate allowing an increase in the charge of 50 cent at any time in the future. It is a test of what they consider to be a "modest" charge. Let them hold to it by voting for this amendment when the opportunity is assuredly presented to them in this Chamber in a short while.

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