Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

There is no reason any family or individual should feel isolated. They were provided with all the relevant information to assist those families who are entitled to free medical care, be it through a full medical card or a GP card, to make the necessary applications. They have been offered any assistance they require in completing applications. It is important that we put this in context. The military authorities advise me that there are 289 enlisted personnel whose families are not entitled to attend the Curragh families clinic. I note what Deputy Ó Fearghaíl had to say about my predecessors; however, no new families have been accepted into the clinic since 2008, so a decision was made by a predecessor of the Deputy's party to stop families using the clinic. The fact that my predecessor did not deal with each family equally has given rise to this issue.

A full analysis of the service provided at the Curragh families clinic was undertaken before the decision to discontinue the service. The analysis concluded that the service provided by the Curragh families clinic is an anomaly in that it is a benefit that is available to only a relatively small number of families of enlisted personnel resident in the Curragh camp and surrounding areas in circumstances in which no such service is available to any other enlisted personnel and in which it is not available to any personnel attached to the Curragh camp since 2008. It is entirely unfair to maintain a service that can be properly provided by local GPs.

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