Sandra McLellan (Cork East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank all the witnesses for their presentations. I have just a few questions. How many full-time respite care beds are there currently available for those with mental health issues where carers might be ill or there may be a family emergency? Are they available in all HSE regions?

I want to mention the prescription charges. The €2.50 levy is a big jump for those who are on the margins. I am aware it was something the Minister had committed to try to abolish. My point is that if the Minister keeps increasing the prescription charges, it will cost more to dispense some of the medication than the medication costs.

I cannot leave it without going back to the medical cards. Like everybody else, I am inundated with representations from those whose discretionary medical cards are being withdrawn. I refer to those who would have been over the income threshold guidelines initially but who received them on discretionary grounds of undue hardship. I suppose what I am trying to ask is, how does one determine "undue hardship"? Is there a price on discretion? Is there a formula that brings it about? It was mentioned earlier that some are 50% over the threshold. However, some live with a serious cost due to the severity of their illness. Are all such persons' costs taken on board when granting discretion? How many of the discretionary medical cards issued were for six months only?

I refer to the 1970 Act. The Minister stated he is abiding by the law. If these laws were there when people received the discretionary medical cards initially and they still got them, why can they not get them now?