Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

This all hinges on when the ICT infrastructure is up and running - in 2018 or whenever the Minister can indicate that it will be up and running. Will those parents then be in a position to get payments backdated if there was a difference in the fees during the year? They have been disenfranchised in the 12 months from 2017 to 2018. I know they will receive the universal level of subsidy, but it was announced in Budget 2016. Will the Minister say if it will be backdated? If they thought they were going to be treated equally it would be a comfort for the parents. The 9,000 families I speak of, and the Minister has hinted at this, are in the gap between those who have the medical card and those who have the GP visit card. Is there going to be any retrospective payback for these families?

See this speech in context