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

The Bill is a short piece of legislation. It is essentially a legislative piece of hypocrisy at variance with all Government policy. It goes back to a 2008 decision by Fianna Fáil to introduce a similar regime. We all recall the current Minister’s position at the time. He used the term “terrorism” to describe the proposal by the Fianna Fáil and Green Party Government at the time. The Taoiseach was equally strong in his condemnation. The words, “shame, shame, shame” come to mind. The Tánaiste said something like “How dare Fianna Fáil do this to the elderly people of Ireland?” Those two parties – Fine Gael and the Labour Party – went on to make even more extensive commitments in the 2011 general election and in the programme for Government. The thrust of the approach was to be universal health care and free access to GP services for all. The Bill rolls back on that. It is part of the targeting of elderly people by the Government. I refer also to such measures as prescription charges, the abolition of the telephone allowance, the reduction in the heating and energy allowances and the recent abolition of the bereavement grant.

The cuts are effectively cost-saving measures. It is unnecessary to take this step as there are other areas that could be tackled, for example, the significant number of wealthy people in the country. The Minister of State, Deputy Costello, told us recently that this is the seventh wealthiest country in the world. In a reply I received from the Minister for Finance, Deputy Noonan, the top 20,000 earners have an average annual income of €476,000. The income and assets of significant numbers of people in this country have increased during the recession. I would have expected that the Government would have looked to them for savings if such savings were necessary.

It is also part of the overall attack on medical card holders. There has been a reduction of €149 million and that is affecting 170,000 medical card holders. Of those, 35,000 are in the over-70s age group and 22,000 have lost cards due to a return to employment and then there is the so-called €113 million of probity. I will not support the legislation. I agree wholeheartedly with Deputy Ó Caoláin in that regard.

I wish to make one other comment on services for the holders of medical cards. I wrote to the Minister about it on a number of occasions and I raised it last week in the Dáil. I refer to the situation that is now arising countrywide where GPs charge for services that were heretofore free for people with medical cards.