Clare Daly (Dublin North, Socialist Party) | Oireachtas source

It is no secret that the HSE is an incredibly dysfunctional organisation. This House has had to listen to horrendous accounts of how vulnerable citizens are being let down by the Government and its appalling decisions to support refusals of medical cards. Although the Taoiseach told us earlier that it was unacceptable, there are so many cases, some in instances where the condition is either terminal or incurable, where there must be some more fundamental problem.

Is it partly a consequence of the public sector recruitment embargo and the fact that the Minister has outsourced much of the function of reviewing and assessing medical records? A German company called Arvato is reviewing medical cards. Is it correct that its staff has no training, no backup from the HSE or community welfare offices and no Garda clearance, are on the minimum wage and have no knowledge of our health situation? Arvato has replaced another private company which did a similar job. Perhaps that is one of the reasons we are getting the most bizarre judgements and decisions. The people charged with making those decisions have not been given the proper training, wages and conditions. It is a consequence of a bigger picture.

The other reason is the change in policy the Government has brought in and the damage it is wreaking on families. A seven-year-old girl in my area has infantile scoliosis and has had medical treatment since she was born including plaster casts and back operations. Although her family had a medical card since 2009, it was withdrawn in 2013 on the basis that their income was over the limit, even though the child's medical condition was worsening and their outgoings had increased. Despite going everywhere, they were consistently refused a medical card for the child. Although taxpayers and citizens are working and paying all the levies, when they need help they get no support. It is cruel and it is almost incredible that the Labour Party is in government while this is happening.

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