Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Is this the third year in a row that we have had a comment from the Comptroller and Auditor General on ineligibility of medical cards in the annual report. I saw it last year and the previous one, where medical cards were held by people who were not in the country, who had left or emigrated, and where doctors were still being paid and sending out letters.

They may have emigrated but the doctors are still being paid and letters are still being sent. According to the 2012 accounts, there were 15,000 medical cards in respect of which nobody knows whether the holders were still in this country. That was a follow-up from the 2011 accounts. Three years later we are still dealing with the same issue. I am not getting into the broader question; this is purely about accounting for medical cards of people who have moved abroad or died. For three years in a row the annual accounts found the issue was not being addressed.

In regard to the non-recovery of potential income from other EU states, I learned from a parliamentary question I tabled yesterday that we get approximately €200 million from the UK Government in respect of people who paid contributions in the UK and are entitled to services from the NHS. As they have retired to Ireland, we are obliged to provide a similar level of cover, including medical cards. Is that money paid to the HSE or the Central Fund?