Mr. Patrick Burke:

When an individual submits an application our first task is to do a financial assessment in cases where there is an issue. When a person has been assessed against the guidelines he or she may wish to bring health, social or other material. In quite a number of cases we can see very quickly whether the card should be granted or whether discretion should apply. There are circumstances where we want or need medical officers to review the case. We have a team of medical officers spread locally across the country, headed up by a principal medical officer. In circumstances where an applicant provides us with material about some health or social circumstance and they cross over, all that material on file is passed to the medical officer. They meet on a regular basis. They will say themselves that in nine cases out of ten they can make their decision very quickly by looking at the circumstances. They are medical doctors and they know the health services and the schemes and how health services are delivered.