Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Adults do not have automatic entitlement to a medical card on the basis of on an illness. Applicants are assessed on financial grounds and for the discretionary medical card. If one does not qualify on financial grounds, one may qualify on medical grounds under the discretionary application process. The number of discretionary medical cards issued continues to increase month on month, as is evident from the figures we published. The Deputy has hit on an important point. I do not wish to take up too much of the committee's time, but recently I met Mr. John Wall, who has terminal cancer and highlighted his difficulty and that of many-----