Alex White (Dublin South, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputies for their contributions on the Bill. It has been an interesting debate. The maintenance of health services is a priority for the Government in 2013 despite the undoubted need for significant and difficult financial savings to be made in the health sector. It has been our intention that front-line health services be protected to the greatest extent possible. None the less, as has been acknowledged, €781 million in savings must be achieved in 2013. This cannot be avoided. The majority of the savings have been designed not to affect front-line activity.

In the context of this Bill, it is vital that the key message I outlined yesterday be repeated: 95% of people above the age of 70 years will not be affected by the new arrangements. With respect, this should provide a level of reassurance and comfort to the majority of people aged over 70 years. We have also sought to minimise the impact on the 5% affected, who earn €600 per week as individuals or €1,200 as couples. We will continue to ensure that they receive free GP services.

To be clear and so we understand precisely what we are debating - we can disagree on the merits of it - 5% of people will be affected. The change is that people will lose access to a full medical card but they will all have a GP visit card to replace it. All - not some - of the people who are above the new eligibility limits of €600 for an individual and €1,200 for a couple, respectively – we estimate there are 20,000 such people – will receive and have access to free GP services. What they lose out on is the contribution to their drug costs, which they will no longer be able to access as they will not have a full medical card, but it will be capped at a level equivalent to €36 per week under the drug payment scheme. I do not seek to minimise the effect the change might have on some individuals and couples but I seek to remind the House of the precise and factual position of what is being done. It does bear repeating and emphasising the relatively small number of people who are affected by the change and the fact that every single one of those people affected will have a free GP visit card.

Deputies Kelleher, Ó Caoláin and others advanced the argument that this change is inconsistent with Government policy in respect of universal free GP care. That is not at all the case. If I were to propose that individuals would lose access to free GP care and that we were taking something away in the Bill that we were proposing to make available in the universal GP visit card which we intend introducing – giving with one hand and taking away with the other – then there might be some merit to the argument but there is no merit to it because what we are doing is not inconsistent at all. We are not removing the GP visit card from anyone. The suggestion of Deputy Kelleher that what is intended is at variance with Government policy or inconsistent with it does not hold water. That is the factual position. Am I wrong in that? It might be funny but it is correct

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