Frank Feighan (Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister. I am pleased to be given an opportunity to speak on this important motion. I appreciate the problems in health care in contemporary Ireland which are of great concern to members of the public. People come to my clinic to complain that their medical card has been discontinued. I find it difficult to accept that some cannot avail of the card. It is a matter of the utmost importance which the Government has failed to address.

The Government, through a series of policies, continues to undermine the provision of a fair and equitable health service for citizens. The current health strategy sends a clear message that the Government does not consider the health issue to be a priority. The non-allocation of medical cards to those most in need, people on low incomes, has a knock-on effect throughout the social services. It is having a negative impact on the efficient functioning of accident and emergency departments.

In order to understand the problems in regard to the medical card scheme as it currently operates it is necessary to explore the eligibility criteria. It is glaringly obvious that the current income eligibility limit is so low that only the poorest of the poor qualify. I witness this in my constituency office. The result is that those just above the income limit, who are surviving on low incomes, are trapped in a nightmare scenario whereby a minor medical incident such as a routine visit to a general practitioner cannot be factored into their daily budget. The Department of Health and Children failed to raise significantly the income threshold levels in the 2003 budget because those on lower incomes had increased incomes in recent years. The rationale behind this must be that those on lower incomes are able to afford to meete their medical expenses.