Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 12 June 2014

Public Accounts Committee

2012 Annual Report and Appropriation Accounts of the Comptroller and Auditor General
Vote 38 - Health
Vote 39 - Health Service Executive
Chapter 21 - Budget Management in Health Service Executive
Chapter 22 - Eligibility for Medical Cards

11:40 am

Mr. Tony O'Brien:

I cannot guarantee what people might perceive from the revised questions that will be asked in the future. Certainly, we are aware that in the case of medical cards issued on a discretionary basis, where there may have been an incorrect understanding that the mere existence of a medical condition was what earned or granted the medical card in the first place, a question like that could be perceived as asking whether someone still has the underlying medical condition. To the extent that we can change the language to ensure there is no such misunderstanding, we will do so.