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

That matter was examined by an independent expert group a number of years ago. I was Minister for Health at the time and Ms Kathleen Lynch was a Minister of State in the Department. The expert group concluded that to do what Deputy McDonald proposes would not be the right way forward because, of course, we would then be saying to people with multiple sclerosis or motor neurone disease, for example, that their diseases do not merit automatic eligibility for a medical card, even though they are very severe and debilitating illnesses, but that somebody who may have a curable skin cancer would be automatically entitled to a medical card. If the Deputy can explain why she thinks somebody with a curable skin cancer should be automatically entitled a medical card and somebody with multiple sclerosis should not, she can tell us.

See this speech in context