Michael Kennedy (Dublin North, Fianna Fail)

I certainly made my views known on the matter and believe that today's announcement has resolved the concerns of the vast majority of the people. We now have a much more equitable solution. As a Fianna Fáil Deputy and a life-long supporter of my party, it is my duty to represent the views of close to 11,000 people who gave me their first preferences in the general election of May 2007. I thank them for that and had no compunction in expressing their concerns to the Taoiseach, the Minister for Finance and the Minister for Health and Children. I am relieved that my representations and those of my backbench colleagues have helped to resolve the situation. The measures announced this morning are fair and equitable and will achieve what the Government was attempting to do, in the first place, that is, to save the State a substantial amount of money.

I am delighted that the Government is to take this issue to the GPs. I mentioned this last week, and as we know Deputy Reilly went berserk when I suggested that the IMO had a role to play. I certainly believe that was always the way we should go to get better value on behalf of the taxpayers of this State, from the IMO. Quite clearly, the figures were very much in its members' favour. It was good to hear a doctor on last night's "Questions and Answers" agree that the average number of visits per patient is six, when they are getting paid for up to 13 visits per year. A 50% saving is badly needed there and the Government is to be congratulated on those negotiations. I look forward to the result of this consultation and I have faith in the Government to make the required savings by addressing the deal with the GPs.

I want to take a moment to acknowledge the contribution of my constituency colleague, Deputy James Reilly who, as a revered former section head of the IMO, was responsible for the medical gold card scheme, which is now emerging as a major expense to the Government. I ask, specifically, as I did last week, whether he will give his blessing to his former GP colleagues in the IMO voluntarily reducing the costs to the Government of treating these elderly medical card holders. We should recall Deputy Reilly's comments as regards the universality of the scheme when it was originally announced. I shall quote from some of his comments when he was chairman of the GP section of the IMO. He said he "would not like to see cards given out to those who could afford golf clubs". I assume he was talking about higher subscription golf clubs. In 2001 he said he "would not like to see [medical] cards given out to senior civil servants, retired or otherwise, judges, Ministers, high-powered property tycoons, hospital consultants...". Equally, I want to remind him of an article, dated 16 December 2007, in The Sunday Business Post, at which stage he was a Dáil Deputy and not acting under his previous guise as a chairman of the IMO's GP section. In the second last paragraph of the article written by Aileen O'Meara, Deputy Reilly is quoted as saying he "does not want millionaire over-70s to be given cards". I regard his attitude and that of Fine Gael on the issue of giving medical cards to millionaire over-70s to be absolutely hypocritical. It is disgusting how someone such as Deputy Reilly can somersault in his attitudes for the sake of sheer naked political opportunism. I hope he will address the issue and allude to that fact when he speaks tonight, as I presume he will, as spokesman for Fine Gael, on the Private Members' Bill. I should like to hear his justification as regards what he believes in 2008, when this country has severe financial constraints compared to 2001-02 when it was trading well and garnering a good deal of taxable income. I want him to answer those queries because I believe that he, and his colleagues in Fine Gael, have been hypocritical. Moving on——

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