Thomas Pringle (Donegal South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I put down this question because I have been contacted over recent months by a large number of elderly people who had their cards cancelled by the PCRS without prior notice. Indeed, when contacted, the PCRS acknowledged that the system did not send out the letters to the people concerned, and it reinstated the cards. However, this has caused huge distress for elderly people who, when seeking to renew their prescription, were told by either their GP or pharmacist they did not have a valid card. There was some type of system failure within the PCRS. It must be identified and steps must be taken to ensure the system does not allow such incidents to happen again. Elderly people should not have to go through that type of distress. They should always be notified.

See this speech in context