Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I would like to put one more question to the Minister in his capacity as a Minister and as a doctor. I hear criticism of the decision to give a doctor-only card to children under the age of six. I ask the Minister to spell out the reasons for that decision to those who are questioning it. Why are we thinking of extending the card to those between the ages of six and 12? I understand that one's lifestyle starts at that age. I appreciate that health issues like obesity and the propensity to have diabetes down the line can be helped at that stage. Perhaps the Minister, as both a doctor and a Minister, can elaborate on that matter.