Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am glad to get the opportunity to speak tonight. There is so much we could say about charges. I too have a gripe with parking charges in hospitals like University Hospital Kerry. We appreciate the exemptions that are available to some people when they are visiting a sick person on a daily or hourly basis but we need more such exemptions.

I want to speak about medical card holders or rather, people who do not have medical cards. I have dealt with situations where a farmer gets hurt or gets sick and is in hospital. He realises that he does not have a medical card so he applies for a card then, knowing that he is going to be in hospital for a while because he has had a stroke, a heart attack or has a serious illness. When he applies for the medical card, in due course, invariably if he is entitled to it, he gets it. However, this could be six, seven or eight weeks after he applied and in the meantime, he has incurred significant costs. I have asked about this several times. In many instances with social welfare claims, the payment is backdated to the day that the person applies. I am asking that the medical card be granted from day the person applied. I admit that when someone gets sick like that, it is possible that they does not send in all that is required so that they can be granted the medical card but God almighty, when it is granted it should be backdated to the day it was applied for.

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