Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 14 November 2013

Public Accounts Committee

2012 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General
Chapter 22 - Eligibility for Medical Cards

12:00 pm

Mr. John Hennessy:

I will start on that issue and Mr. Patrick Burke will contribute as necessary. It is a good point and transparency is obviously important in the operation of the scheme. The group of 12 medical officers, overseen by a principal medical officer, 13 in total, operate to a standard operating procedure. We will have a look at the issue. It is important that we put that into the public domain in order that there is good transparency and knowledge about how the process works and the way it works. The individual medical officers also liaise closely with the patient's GP and consultant, as necessary, if there is an issue of clarity that they may wish to bring to the decision making process. We will certainly look at the issue of transparency and bringing that into the public domain in a better manner than is currently the case.

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