Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank Mr. Hennessy for that helpful response. I wish to focus on the question of consistency because this committee is not so much concerned with policy but with the implementation of that policy in a correct manner.

Therefore the expenditure of taxpayers funds is correct. Every member of the delegation who has spoken today has alluded to an inconsistency or a previous inconsistency in terms of how medical cards were issued in the past. I note the Comptroller and Auditor General in points 22.6 to 22.8, inclusive, of the report on eligibility for medical cards refers to an inconsistency between regions and that eligibility for medical cards was not consistent. Can we call a spade a spade and clarify what this means? Is it the luck of the draw? If one lived in County Limerick and had a certain condition, one might have been granted a medical card on the grounds of discretion, whereas in County Donegal, discretion may have been applied separately.