James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

At the outset, I want to reject out of hand the notion that there is any deliberate culling of cards as Deputies Ó Caoláin and Kelleher allege. During the course of the debate yesterday, and again this morning during Question Time, Deputies continued to insist that there has been a change in policy in the application of discretion. I reject this. The health service must operate within the bounds of the law set by this House, and I expect it to do so in a respectful, fair and equitable manner.

The Deputies point out that the number of medical cards issued on a discretionary basis has decreased, and this is true, but it is important that we understand why this is the case, and that we are honest about this, particularly with the people we represent. There is no deliberate cull as the Deputies would like people to believe. Rather it is the case that many households whose income was previously marginally over the threshold, and therefore got a card on a discretionary basis, subsequently experienced a fall in income, and now qualify for a medical card without any need for the exercise of discretion.

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