Mr. Patrick Burke:

Deputy Ross should bear in mind that we had a medical card assessment of eligibility in 100 locations with approximately 450 people. As we have centralised that we have provided the platform where we receive electronic feeds of data from Revenue. We also have access to social protection data. We are joining up government. As we go forward and talk about being able to conduct 1 million reviews next year, quite an amount of those will be reviews on the basis of information we have. We do not intend to review and ask 1 million people to provide us with chapter and verse. A risk assessment is done on the basis of the information flows we receive. As that system moves forward over the next number of years exactly the same will happen as our links with the Department of Social Welfare develop. We should be in a situation where we can provide an applicant with his or her health eligibility on foot of one assessment without asking that individual to provide information.

While the 1 million reviews would seem a challenge, over the past two years we have conducted more than 900,000 reviews. We are answering questions raised in this forum by the Comptroller and Auditor General. When we confer eligibility we confer a medical credit card. While it may be free for the individual who uses it, it incurs a cost to the taxpayer, and that cost could be €1,000 or €100,000. In exactly the same way as we want to ensure everyone who is eligible for a medical card receives one, we should be able on an annual or biannual basis be able to confirm that the person has eligibility to use a medical credit card at the taxpayer's expense.