Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 14 November 2013

Public Accounts Committee

2012 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General
Chapter 22 - Eligibility for Medical Cards

11:00 am

Mr. Patrick Burke:

Yes. Let me finish by saying every time a medical card or eligibility is granted, it is granted for a window of time, three months in advance of the end of which the client is advised and the review commences. There is a review date. In a sense, no particular group has been targeted or identified in any way. I will outline the only random act we have undertaken. It was done in line with what the Comptroller and Auditor General had recommended. This year we initiated a process whereby a random sample was used to establish a baseline to determine how the scheme was being managed. To answer to the Vice Chairman's question, during a three and a half year window the entire database will be reviewed.