Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Inequality in general has an impact on health, and this is an issue for the entire Government, not just the Department of Health. I think the Deputy would agree with me on that. The system that is in place and which we hope to expand has ensured that the number of discretionary medical cards has increased enormously. There is a more compassionate way of looking at it. It is about the burden of illness. Even where people do not qualify through a means test, there is a recognition that illness brings an additional burden with it. We have increased the number of discretionary medical cards to over 70,000. The number of GP cards has increased to almost 85,500, and the figure for medical cards in general is over 1 million. A sizeable proportion of the population, therefore, are now covered by free access to a primary care medical card and, in many cases, GP access also. There is no shortage of people in need. We all understand that that is because of particular circumstances, but I am sure the Deputy understands that the general inequality in society is a much wider issue, which is the responsibility of more than just the Department of Health.

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