Alex White (Dublin South, Labour) | Oireachtas source

As the Deputy was given latitude to make his political point, it is no harm to remind members what his party wanted to do to people aged over 70 years. The changes it proposed were more fundamental than what was ultimately implemented, namely, an income threshold of €1,400. The 3% of people who lost their medical cards through that decision did not get GP cards. Anyone who has lost a full medical card under our measure received a GP card as a replacement. We spend a considerable amount of time looking back but it is better to look forward.