Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

There is some confusion about the HAA card and the recommendation of Mr. Justice Quirke on the provisions he said should be applied. In that context, Deputy Niall Collins made reference to Appendix G of Mr. Justice Quirke's report. I also note the point made by Deputy Joan Collins, but the reference she made was to documentation relating to the HAA card, rather than to Mr. Justice Quirke's report. I also apologise to the Deputy about the committee.

The Health (Amendment) Act 1996 was the Act to which Mr. Justice Quirke made reference. What we are providing for and what I have clarified is that services can be private or public. I explained last week that both private and public services were to be included and that I was bringing forward an amendment to make this very clear. The Magdalen women and those who contracted hepatitis C are not identical and face different circumstances, as Mr. Justice Quirke recognised. He said the scheme needed to be adapted. When I spoke earlier, I highlighted the fact that particular services were made available to women with hepatitis C appropriate to that condition.

On the health status of the Magdalen women, Mr. Justice Quirke found that the main concerns were cancer, heart complaints, high blood pressure and diabetes, mental health illnesses, mobility problems, dementia, arthritic complaints, arterial difficulties and visual and hearing deficits. As Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan pointed out, many of these concerns are typically associated with the ageing population cohort, all of whom are over 50 years and many of whom are over 60. The services being provided, following on from Mr. Justice Quirke's recommendations, address the health circumstances typical of that age cohort. The women concerned will have access to all of the health services, nursing home services, GP services and prescribed drugs required. Anything they need is provided as part the services covered by the Bill. The only substantive services not included are alternative therapies. Deputies will be aware of recent difficulties related to HSE funding for alternative therapies. There was considerable public debate about the use of public money in that way. That is not to say, however, that some alternative therapies would not be helpful to some of the women concerned, as the Deputies argued. In that context, I will examine how we might go about including such therapies, but I will not do so under the legislation. It would be an administrative scheme and I need to examine the details of how we might provide for it. In principle, I am committed to finding a way to respond and set up a scheme under which we would provide some funding, albeit limited, to provide such therapies, but I am saying it cannot be done under the medical card scheme. That is the reality. I have said the same about advocacy services, an issue which will be discussed later.

In every other area that Mr. Justice Quirke recommended the women concerned receive medical services equivalent to those provided for holders of the HAA card such services are being provided. Deputies should note that he advised that not all of the services described in the guide to the HAA card would be directly relevant to the Magdalen women; therefore, any comparable guide for the Magdalen women would require suitable adaptation.

In terms of the health issues Mr. Justice Quirke identified, we are being very inclusive in the services being made available, free of charge, to the Magdalen women. By introducing this amendment, I am making it clear that all of these services are free, whether public or private. That deals with the issues raised by the Deputies.

The reference to a period of "two weeks" relates to urgent treatment for hepatitis C patients and does not apply in the same way to the women we are discussing who were in Magdalen homes.

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