Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent) | Oireachtas source

A woman came into my clinic in Ballinasloe recently. She had been diagnosed with cancer. I sympathised with her not because she had been diagnosed with cancer or because herself and her family were going to have to go through that challenge over the coming months but because of the horrendous experience she is going to have to go through to be granted a medical card.

I welcome the report by the Irish Cancer Society because it exposes two issues, the first of which is the failure to recognise properly the medical expenses in the assessment of medical card applications for illnesses such as cancer. It is not a means assessment; it is a mean assessment. The average spend per month for a cancer patient is €862 while the average income loss is €1,400. However, the allowances provided under the medical card system for health expenses, prescribed medicines and appliances and hospital charges come to the princely sum of €62.65 per week. This means the figure of €459.49 per week in costs and income lost, as identified by the Irish Cancer Society, is being ignored in the current medical card assessment. Regardless, even to get recognition from the medical card section for the €62.65 per week, patients on chemotherapy will literally have to sweat blood and tears. The majority of these cases will be granted a medical card at the end of the process, but that is months down the road. It seems that the main policy is to try to wear people down in order that they simply throw in the towel and do not pursue it to the bitter end.

I welcome the report and I welcome that the Minister of State with responsibility for rural affairs is replying to the issue in the House today because the report exposes the active discrimination within the medical card section against people who are sick and residing in rural areas. The report highlights that the average cost for travel expenses per week is €66.23. This is not only for cancer but also relates to other medical conditions requiring frequent attendance at regional centres. The provision for transport under the medical card assessment comes under health expenses. I have seldom seen a case where an application gets anything more than €15, that is, one quarter of the real cost identified by the Irish Cancer Society. We have developed centres of excellence, particularly for cancer, and they are all welcome. For someone in my county who has to travel to Galway for a hospital appointment, the cost comes to €150. We do not have public transport to facilitate such people in getting to the appointment and back again on the same day. As a result, these people must pay for a taxi. The HSE will not assist with this cost and the Department of Social Protection will not assist in the matter either. These people have to fork out the money from their own pockets. If a person is unfortunate enough to come from Arigna, for example, it will cost him €200 to get to the hospital appointment in the first place. No recognition is being given to that fact by the medical card section.

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