Paul Connaughton Snr (Galway East, Fine Gael)

The issue raised by Deputies Ring and Deenihan is connected with the issue I propose to raise, namely, the awarding of medical cards to those aged more than 70 years. As the Minister of State will be aware, every pensioner aged over 70 years received a letter in February from the primary care reimbursement service in Finglas, County Dublin, the office which will carry out all assessments for medical cards. The letter stated that those who believed their income was less than €700 per week in the case of an individual or €1,400 per week in the case of a couple had no reason to return their medical cards. In other words, people would be taken at their word. As we know, 10,000 or 12,000 answered it and said their income was over the guidelines. A commitment was given at that time by the Minister for Health and Children and Professor Drumm that this was the end of it. They gave people a guarantee that this was the only assessment that would be made.

This week, five or six elderly people ranging in age from 75 to 90 called to my clinic. They had another letter in their hands. At this stage they had two letters. They received a new letter last week with a new application form which they had to fill out to apply for a medical card. The application required them to go to their doctor to have it signed, to the bank to prove the amount they had in savings and to the Department of Social Welfare to prove the size of the pension they received.

I know the Minister of State, Deputy Andrews has an interest in this matter. Can he imagine, having been told a month before that this was the end of the assessment, that people received another confusing letter? They were running around as if they were 50 years younger to go to all the various places required and send the application to Finglas in Dublin.

There is great deception going on. This is out of all order. All this has happened within the past month without the Minister for Health and Children or Professor Drumm stating publicly that all persons over 70 with a medical card will be assessed as the due date is reached on their medical cards. This is an outrageous attack on the elderly. The Government could have been honourable and said every person over 70 will be assessed. However, it is beginning to forget the thousands outside on the streets last October. Its memory is getting short.

This is beginning to frighten people. Once this becomes well known this type of deception will not be accepted by the elderly. Can one imagine a 90 year old having to go to the bank, the Department of Social Welfare and the doctor to complete the application and send it to Finglas? There was a telephone number for Finglas one could ring. I tried seven times yesterday and today to get through to it and I only got through this evening. Can one imagine an elderly person in Mountbellow in Galway trying to get through to that number to have a normal, reasonable query answered? If ever we were in for one of the greatest debacles of all time, it will be the medical cards.

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