Seán Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)

The cut-off point under which people pay the lower tax rate of 20% is €700 per week. The Government announced it was restoring the medical cards to people over 70 with the exception of the "super rich". If one has an income that matches the tax regulations that allow one to pay tax at 20%, up to €700 per week, one is not part of the super rich in this country. Let us dismiss that myth. My point, in addition to the points Deputy Shatter followed on with, is that individualisation exists in the tax code. A married couple can be taxed on an individual basis. In this matter a married couple cannot be assessed on an individual basis, which totally contradicts the Government's position on the tax law.

A married couple can have all sorts of circumstances. Why can a woman, in particular, who has reared a family and is discriminated against in the tax code, not use the convenience of being an individual in her application for a medical card? Why can she not declare she does not have an income like her husband's, although she lives with him. We do not go into her family circumstances and poke around to find how much she receives per month or week from her husband. If she declares she has no income and is aged over 70, why should she be penalised because her husband's income is €1,400 per week?

We do not know whether the husband gives her anything. Does she get any pocket money? What does she do? Does he prevent her from going to the doctor because he will not pay the fee? We do not know these circumstances. In legislation it is not good enough to say she can go to the community welfare officer and plead hardship, saying she has a nasty husband. The Minister is putting down in law gross income of €1,400 for a married couple and €700 for a single person. We are entitled to ask why, in these circumstances, a married person, whether the woman or the man has the income, cannot apply on an individual basis for a medical card based on his or her nil income. That matter must be dealt with because it will arise.

The women of Ireland, who have been treated badly by the tax code because of individualisation, particularly the married women who have chosen to spend a life at home rearing children and looking after the home to the benefit of the State, should not be deprived of a medical card in the latter years of their lives and should not depend on getting a few quid from their husbands to be able to visit the doctor. Let us clearly state the rights of individuals in certain circumstances. Can a married woman apply on an individual basis and qualify on the grounds that she has no income in her own right? Yes or no?

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