Mark Ward (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Up to the age of 65, people on invalidity pensions are eligible for medical cards and free GP visit cards regardless of spousal income. At the age of 66, however, they are transferred to the State pension and they lose eligibility. This has presented a cliff edge for a number of my constituents, including Margaret Ede, who has been contacting me regularly. Margaret and others like her are reliant on the medical card due to the cost of medicines and GP visits. She will have to wait four years to be eligible again through the over-70s medical card scheme. This is a financial barrier to older citizens accessing the care they require, when and where they need it. Can the threshold be looked at for those who were previously on invalidity pensions when they are transferred to the State pension? They were on invalidity pensions for a reason.

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