Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I apologise if the witnesses have already dealt with some of my questions, but I am finding some of the information difficult to pick up. I get that the current system is not acceptable. The idea of moving from paper to digital and access for researchers to files and so on makes sense. Some of that is going on at present, but not to the extent to which it should be. Highlighting gaps in services also makes sense. I get the eircode idea, even though many of us do not use the eircode. It is probably important to use it as we move forward.

I get the idea that we have a paper system at present and if I live in Dublin and get sick down in Limerick or something, the current system is all wrong. Even in the Dublin system, if a patient is attending two hospitals, one hospital is not talking to the other. I will give the example of the Mater hospital and St. James' Hospital. One of the issues that has been raised before is the current system. If I have someone applying for a medical card who is seriously ill, there are challenges in trying to get the card and even in trying to get information on it. I know of an individual who is attending two hospitals and trying to get an update for their medical card. The application is based on the person's finances, income and medical condition. It is almost impossible to try to get that in certain circumstances, especially if a person is ill. If a person is ill, he or she has a difficulty in trying to get someone to talk to in the hospital. If a person sends an email, he or she might get an answer to it. It is not a case of going to the hospital to try to get information. The current system is not working for people in that situation. What would be the situation with regard to a medical card in the new system? What access can I, as an individual, get to a medical card? I think it was said that 70% of people have an individual health identifier number in the current system. Is the percentage higher than that?