Alex White (Dublin South, Labour) | Oireachtas source

With regard to the consumer price index issue raised by Deputy Kelleher, that only relates to the rather restricted circumstances in which the Minister can increase or decrease the limits in accordance with the index. We had some discussion on this on Second Stage and the impression may have formed in some quarters that this is a kind of catch-all power for the Minister and that he could simply make an announcement increasing or decreasing the limits, without regard to any set of standards or requirements. The Bill is very clear that it confines the discretion of the Minister acting on his own - in other words acting otherwise than in accordance with what the Oireachtas provides for. Those circumstances are very limited. They are limited only to the circumstances set out and referred to at section 3 (d) and set out in section 7(5) of the Bill. It states:

The Minister shall, on 1 September of every year, review the most recent information on the consumer price index made available by the Central Statistics Office, and may, with the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, by regulations to take effect on 1 January next following that review, increase or decrease the gross income limits specified for the purposes of this section to reflect any increase or decrease in that index.

It is important to note that the power about which Deputy Kelleher is concerned is quite confined and restricted and this should allay his concerns.

With regard to the issue raised by Deputy Colreavy, an issue which was raised by Deputy Ó Caoláin on Second Stage, I sought to point out to the House on Second Stage that contrary to what Deputy Colreavy says, this section is not going in the opposite direction in respect of our commitments with regard to free GP access. I will explain this clearly to the House again. There is a commitment in the programme for Government to extend free GP access to the entire community. Nothing in this Bill takes us in the opposite direction to that commitment. That commitment stands and is not in any way undermined, redirected or negatived by anything we are doing here.

We estimate 20,000 people will lose access to a full medical card following this Bill, but that access will be replaced by free GP access. Therefore, we are not going in the opposite direction. There is nothing in the Bill that takes us in the opposite direction from GP access. Deputies should understand that nobody will lose free GP access as a result of anything in this Bill.

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