Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)

I move amendment No. 4:

In page 4, to delete line 31 and substitute the following:

"(b) persons who were married to another person until that other person's death, or lived with that other person as husband and wife until the other person's death—

(i) if the surviving persons have attained the age of 70 years at the time of the death,

(ii) if the death occurred on or after 1 January 2009, and

(iii) for a period of 3 years after the death, so long as their gross income does not exceed the gross income limit set out in paragraph (b) of subsection (2) during that period;

and".

One of these amendments is technical and the other puts beyond doubt a situation that generally exists in practice. On the death of the spouse of persons aged over 70, they will hold the medical card for a period of three years. During the earlier debate I said that I wished that this could continue for longer but, on the advice of the Attorney General, we cannot introduce discriminatory provisions between widows and widowers and single people. The gross income will be the income of the widow or the widower for a period of up to three years following the death of a spouse. Amendment No. 4 concerns this and amendment No. 5 is consequential on it.

See this speech in context