Séamus Healy (Tipperary South, Workers and Unemployed Action Group) | Oireachtas source

These are huge impositions on top of families and individuals who are already hugely hard pressed by the cutbacks and the reductions to services introduced by the Government.

It is suggested in the paper that medical card holders will be subsidised. This brings us to the whole question of medical cards. We have to wonder which individuals will have medical cards at the end of the current process of chaos and policy change in the medical card area. The fact is the Government has changed the policy in regard to medical card eligibility and there is absolute chaos in this area currently.

I come across very difficult cases every day, as I am sure every other Member of this House does, where medical cards have been withdrawn or refused which would have been granted in the past. I will give some examples. I came across a gentleman lately who lost his medical card because he was 8 cent over the limit. I came across a single person on an invalidity pension who had a small occupational pension of €10.25 per week and lost his medical card despite his total income being €213 per week. I came across a very ill young person who is wheelchair bound, has regular epileptic seizures and is suffering from cerebral palsy, but that person's medical card was withdrawn. I come across numerous individuals almost daily who have had medical cards all their lives but whose cards have been refused and withdrawn in the last 12 to 18 months.

There is no doubt that discretionary medical cards are no longer being granted on medical grounds and that the Minister and the HSE have changed policy in this regard. There is great difficulty for individuals who have chronic and serious medical conditions who always had medical cards but whose cards have been withdrawn or are being refused due to the question of new applicants.

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