Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It is fair to say that one of the issues that had caused the greatest offence to the people we met on the doorsteps in recent weeks, irrespective of whether they were affected by it, was the policy position of the withdrawal of discretionary medical cards from very sick people, children with multiple disabilities and people with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions. To be honest, every Deputy heard shocking stories on doorstep after doorstep that went to the heart of the Administration's insensitivity - for example, of people terminally ill with cancer and brain tumours who had their cards taken from them.

We have been raising these issues with the Taoiseach and the Minister for Health, Deputy Reilly, for more than two years. I have raised them on Leaders' Questions a number of times. We got denial after denial of a change in policy and a lot of bravado from the Taoiseach. We got a metaphorical smacking down, with claims that we were scaremongering and so on. Lo and behold, a week or two ago the Minister for Finance stated that change was on the way but that, because of the looming elections, he would not tell anyone about it lest he be accused of electioneering and that he would tell us all about it in the elections' aftermath.

This issue has offended people's sense of decency. Many who never held medical cards told us that, whatever we did, we should look after those who were sickest first. Will the Minister confirm that the policy of withdrawing discretionary medical cards will stop and that those that have been withdrawn from sick people will be restored? Will new legislation be published to underpin the granting of medical cards to very sick children, irrespective of age, as well as to people with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions?

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