Seanad debates
Wednesday, 26 March 2003
Health Services: Motion.
The Minister has pointed out that various allowances are not taken into account such as the carer's allowance, child benefit, domiciliary care allowance, child income, family income supplement and foster care allowance and that there are special groups such as Travellers, the homeless, drug misusers, prisoners, asylum seekers and refugees for whom special latitude is given. There is a certain group who must wish they were not leading such upright lives because they cannot afford to take proper care of themselves and they just exceed the income level. The Irish College of General Practitioners has expressed concern to me about this group, who see doctors less frequently than they should. Often they self-diagnose and self-prescribe. Also they present less frequently for routine checks in the event of chronic illness and do not become involved in preventative health care and health advice which, as the Minister has said, is extremely important. They do not present with social and psychological problems. The longer psychiatric problems remain untreated the more likely they are to be serious. In their report on the stark facts the other day, psychiatrists pointed out it was those from the least affluent backgrounds who had the highest level of psychiatric problems and the least psychiatric services. There is a large group who are losing out badly.
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