Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I wish to offer my deepest sympathy to Savita Halappanavar's husband, family and friends on their tragic loss.

It has been of benefit to hear the good news and the bad news today. I was not aware that 1.8 million people had medical cards. Every week, a number of people contact me about availing of medical cards. In most cases, they are successful. I am glad to see that an additional 144,000 medical cards have been introduced to the scheme. Once my constituents enter the system, they are happy with and have trust in the service they receive. The difficulty lies in trying to enter the system. Perhaps we need to promote more the good news story on page 4.

Are there plans to increase the age limit for women availing of BreastCheck?

The committee has held a number of meetings on obesity. One doctor told us that mothers were not breastfeeding and, as a possible result, children were becoming more overweight. Are there plans for an information or education programme? Are there plans for a parental information programme on children's nutrition and preventing obesity?

I wish to ask about specialised not-for-profit charities, in particular the LauraLynn House palliative and respite care service, which does good work but is under pressure, and a body that will interest the Chairman, namely, the organisation that trains guide dogs in Cork. The latter is also under pressure and has needed to withdraw dogs from children with autism who have had them for a number of years. Due to cutbacks, dogs are not being trained and children cannot avail of the service.