Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick East, Labour)

My office, like the offices of all my colleagues in this House, has been inundated today with calls from people concerned about the impact of this budget on the over 70s. Such people previously qualified for a medical card automatically, without a means test, but they are now subject to such a test. As this day has gone on, we have learned more and more about the nasty aspects of this budget. Perhaps the nastiest development was the posting this afternoon of a notice on the HSE website about the means testing for medical cards of people over the age of 70. Up to now, such people were not means tested unless they had a spouse under the age of 70. In such cases, the threshold for eligibility for a medical card was set at €596.50 for a couple. That threshold has been halved for all people over the age of 70. All couples over that age are now subject to a means test threshold of €298 per couple. The threshold for couples over the age of 70 has been halved, in effect. The means test threshold for a single person over the age of 70 has been set at €201.50. If a single person of that age wants to get a full medical card, he or she must not have an income in excess of €201.50. The relevant threshold for a married couple is €298. That means, in effect, that a person with a relatively small occupational pension will be ineligible for a medical card. This development is shocking and worrying for those in the over-70 age category. I cannot emphasise enough the number of people who are concerned about this. There is a real fear among elderly people that they will not be able to pay for their health charges.

We got a lecture from the Minister for Finance, Deputy Brian Lenihan, yesterday. He told us we should be patriotic. The elderly people of this country, who have paid their taxes and worked hard over their lifetimes, often on small incomes, do not need a lecture on patriotism. They need fair play and an opportunity to have their health care needs looked after at this stage in their lives. It seems the opportunity they were given in that regard is to be taken from them, which is absolutely shocking. The manner in which the means test for medical cards operated before now was relatively progressive. The threshold for a single person under the age of 65 was €164 and the threshold for a single person between the ages of 66 and 69 was €173.50. The threshold for a couple under the age of 65 was €266.50 and the threshold for a couple between the ages of 65 and 69 was €298. The threshold for a couple between the ages of 70 and 79 was €598.50 and the threshold for a couple over the age of 80 was €627. That progression has gone completely. The threshold for those over the age of 70 has been reduced to the level applying to those between the ages of 66 and 69. This nasty little piece of work has been revealed on the HSE website. It was not announced in this Chamber by the Minister for Health and Children when she spoke earlier in this debate. It is a huge cause for worry among elderly people throughout the community.

People are concerned that they will not be able to pay for their medical treatment. Deputy Hoctor is the Minister of State with responsibility for the elderly, but I am not sure if she is aware that the means test has been slashed in this way. The threshold has been halved, where previously it was €596.50 for a couple. This puts fear into the hearts of people who are concerned for their health and it makes them wonder whether they will be able to get the kind of treatment they need. We know that elderly people need to go to the doctor regularly and that it was a great comfort to them when the free medical card was introduced. There were arguments about it at the time, and our party expressed concerns about introducing for everybody, regardless of income. However, it was introduced a year before a general election in order to win that election, but was taken away a year after another general election. That is highly cynical and damaging to the people concerned.

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