Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy has raised a number of questions. The Minister for Health requested a detailed examination of the status on 1 March of this year of the holders of the 78,000 discretionary medical cards that were in circulation on 1 March 2011. I will give the House the relevant information that emerged from that process. On 1 March last, some 33% of them - or 25,398 individuals - still held medical cards on a discretionary basis; some 49% of them - or 37,906 individuals - held medical cards based on assessment of means; and some 19% of them - or 14,621 individuals - no longer held medical cards. Within the latter group, some 2,521 people, or 3% of the total figure, were deceased; some 5,145 people, or 7% of the total figure, did not respond to correspondence from the HSE; some 1,522 people, or 2% of the total figure, initially engaged with the HSE did not complete the review process by providing all the required documentation; and some 5,433 people, or 7% of the total figure, completed the review process only to be found to be ineligible for a medical card. That is the current status of the 78,000 people who held medical cards on a discretionary basis in 2011, based on what happened them between 2011 and March of this year. Those who had their cards granted as part of the discretionary allocation, but lost those cards on review or assessment, will have those cards restored. That will account for a portion of the €13 million cost that the Cabinet approved collectively and unanimously yesterday in order to deal with this matter.

I will not have time to deal with the other elements of Deputy Ó Caoláin's question.

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