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

Adults are means tested in the first instance and after that, they can be given on discretionary grounds, for terminal illness or, I believe, on emergency grounds in certain circumstances. Professor Frank Keane undertook a detailed review on this matter and determined that it would be unfair to select some diagnoses and not others, that there could not be an automatic right to a medical card for cancer, for instance, but not for multiple sclerosis, that it would have to be done on other factors rather than diagnosis.

On the cost of medicines, the maximum any household has to pay is €140 monthly and this will be reduced to €130 from January. We will continue to reduce this amount.

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