Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I join the previous speaker in paying tribute to the progressive approach Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice has taken to this Bill. We are sure to be on a good thing if the Opposition is calling for its provisions to be extended to a larger cohort. Usually all we hear from the Opposition benches is empty rhetoric in which the Government is accused of a power grab or making promises we never keep. We have been accused in the past of breaking promises on health policy, securing economic recovery or taking people off the dole queues. The reality is that we are either delivering or have delivered on every promise we made. This is borne out by the fact that Ireland is the fastest growing European economy. We have taken 400,000 people out of the USC net and reduced PRSI. The dole queues have been reduced from 15% to 10%.

One of the pillars of our health strategy was to introduce free GP care as a start in moving to universal health care, particularly for those aged under six years or over 70. I pay tribute to the Minister for Health and his negotiating team for managing to get the issue of care for children under six years over the line with GPs. I acknowledge the cuts with which GPs have had to contend due to the economic crisis. We will be taking larger strides towards recovery in the future, which I hope will allow us to invest more money in health services. The Bill implements our commitments in the programme for Government, as restated in the statement on the priorities for Government published in 2014.

Deputy Catherine Byrne has pointed out that 36,000 people over the age of 70 years are currently paying for GP visits, even after working and paying into the PRSI system for their entire lives. It is time we started to give something back to them as a cohort rather than based on their individual means. It should be a universal right that a person who reaches the age of 70 years has access to free GP care.

The basis behind this is not just to return services to people through the money, but to facilitate and progress the healthy Ireland initiative started by the Government. This will provide diabetes treatment and asthma treatment for children under six, which will be taken on by GPs. It will also allow for healthy Ireland initiatives to be taken for those over 70. This is very welcome.

Many people over 70 have been entitled to GP and medical cards in the past, but the application process has been cumbersome and worrying for them. That is going and now these people will automatically receive their cards. I welcome this and the fact that their spouses who are younger than them will also receive these cards. Access is key to preventative care, medicines and holistic treatments that will ensure we have a healthy Ireland. I look forward to the day I can stand in this Chamber to welcome the next Bill that will include those over six and under 70.

I commend this Bill to the House. The Government is one that keeps it promises and we look forward to doing that over the next 12 months.

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