Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Ba mhaith liom buíochas a gabháil le gach Teachta a ghlac páirt sa díospóireacht. I thank all Deputies who took part in this debate last evening and this evening. If anything, the contributions have strengthened our resolve, not just Sinn Féin Deputies but all of us who have demonstrated a real understanding of the issue at the core of this debate, to challenge what is currently taking place with the medical card system and to press the Government to relent. There is no excuse for any member of Government or any Member of the Oireachtas not knowing the depth of hardship, anxiety and grief being caused by the denial of medical cards to people who desperately need them. We heard last night and again tonight, some of the many examples. It is particularly harrowing where a child with a severe disability or a serious illness loses a medical card. It was disappointing to witness the Minister of State, Deputy Alex White, dancing on the head of a pin. He said in his contribution that for ease of discussion he would use the term "discretionary medical card". He later said "there is no such thing as a discretionary medical card". He also said that medical cards are awarded by the HSE where the HSE "exercises discretion in circumstances where a person exceeds the income guidelines". Let us try to get this straight. There are no discretionary medical cards, there only medical cards awarded on the basis of discretion. Could somebody figure that out? More important, would somebody attempt to explain it to the many irate families who have had their medical cards taken from them when they truly deserve them and needed them?

The Minister of State disputes the figures I have cited. I will repeat them because the source is his own senior Minister, Deputy Reilly. The number of people with full medical cards and GP visit cards on a discretionary basis in March 2011 was 97,120 and by March 2014, this number had fallen to 78,310. The Minister of State should not get stuck on March 2011 because there is a three year passage here. There was certainly nobody else getting access to discretionary medical cards over that period by the figures the Minister of State himself has used. I will not attempt to unpick the rest of the figures and the percentages cited by the Minister of State last night and in the course of Question Time today. The key figure I have highlighted, plus the testimonies of people coming to every Oireachtas Member on a weekly if not daily basis, are more than enough to show the adverse results of Government policy and HSE practice in the lives of real people. It is real people of whom we speak. I agree that the medical card system is primarily income-based, but it has always included, at its core, a crucial element of discretion. That key discretionary element has been eroded by this Government for so-called cost-saving reasons and for none other. It is as crass as that over the past three years. The Minister does not like the word "cull" but this cull of discretionary medical cards has been done under the term of "probity". One of the dictionary definitions of "probity" is"'uprightness and honesty". The implication is that the Department and the HSE are rooting out dishonest people who have wrongly claimed for medical cards and who have been enjoying them for some time. On the contrary, let the facts show that it is the Government, the Department and the HSE who are less than honest. They are claiming to treat people equally but they are choosing the easy targets, the families whose income is over the threshold, many with members with serious illnesses or disabilities and for whom the cost of health care is a huge burden. That is the reason they qualified for a discretionary medical card in the first place.

I wish to thank especially those who continue to campaign outside this institution on this most important of issues. I want to recognise especially the specialist nurses from the Jack and Jill Foundation and all others, including Aoibheann's Pink Tie, for their campaigning and for their continued efforts to try to bring reality to the Minister and to his colleagues and to this Government. I urge all Deputies, on all sides of the House, to truly represent their constituents. Nobody in this House can be unaware of the real hurt and pain that exists as a result of this cull. The canvass in the local and European elections has certainly focused minds and brought this home to everyone's knowledge and attention. I appeal to everybody here to support the Sinn Féin motion as tabled, to recognise that it is time for those at the helm of our health services, including the Minister and his junior colleagues, to take their heads out of the sand and to recognise what is happening across society today. It is not about numbers and statistics but about people who are suffering unnecessarily.

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