Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Carer's allowance, carer's benefit, disability allowance and disability benefit are matters for the Department of Social Protection, but no one gets carer's allowance or disability benefit based on a diagnosis or a particular set of symptoms. Even if someone has a serious illness, for example, a severe cancer, he or she does not automatically get disability allowance. Everyone is assessed individually based on income and needs regardless of the cause of the illness or what he or she believes the cause to be.

Similarly, medical card applications are assessed initially based on the income of the individual or family. The cost of people's medical treatments and their other potential needs are then taken into account, in particular for discretionary medical cards. I am sure that the Deputy knows this from his own work. It is not that anyone has an automatic entitlement to any of these benefits based on what symptoms they have or what they believe the cause of the symptoms to be. People are assessed individually initially and also on their needs. This is the way it is for every citizen, which is as it should be.

See this speech in context