Micheál Martin (Cork South-Central, Fianna Fail)

Part of the reason could be the expansion of medical card eligibility. More than 1.5 million people now have a medical card. There has been exponential growth in that number. The previous Minister took significant steps in successive budgets to expand coverage. I am surmising but I will ask the HSE and the Minister to get some background information or statistics for the Deputy. I presume and surmise that quite a lot of people who had discretionary cards and who may not have been entitled-----

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