Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)

Is the Minister aware that if a person over 70 with a medical card died in November 2008 as a consequence of this legislation, his or her spouse will be deprived of it from 2 March? Does she accept that it is a gross discrimination and grossly unfair that such circumstances arise, especially given that if the spouse had lived until 2 January 2009 his or her widow or widower would have retained the medical card for three years? Where is the fairness, equity or humanity in treating those who were bereaved immediately prior to 1 January 2009 differently from those bereaved this year? Is the Minister aware that as matters are now being administered by the HSE, elderly people phoning the HSE whose income exceeds €700 per week but is below €1,400 per week and whose spouses died in 2006, 2007 or 2008 are being told that they will be deprived of the medical card that they believed they would otherwise retain?

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