Alex White (Dublin South, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I am not saying that there are 1,000 children concerned but I have seen those reports. I am not seeking to argue with the Deputy about numbers but I do not know what are the statistics. I am not being in the least bit facetious with the Deputy but it is not possible for me to establish the numbers, formally or otherwise, because the system does not include such information.

The Deputy seeks to urge me to accept the principle that somebody with Down's syndrome should automatically have a medical card, but the 1970 Act does not provide for that. I am interested in universal access to health care and, in the first instance, to GP services. That is what the Government is doing as regards the interim roll-out in respect of under six year olds. That is not a stand-alone project, it is the first instalment of a project in the programme for Government.

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