Fergal Browne (Fine Gael)

If they listen for a change, they might hear what I am saying. I do not think anyone in the House could justify giving a medical card to a multimillionaire in his 70s while a woman with four or five children, two or three of whom could be regularly sick or have a recurring condition, does not get a medical card. That was the point I was making. We now know that when the medical card was given to the over 70s, the Department of Health and Children underestimated the number of people over 70 and had carried out no research on the matter.

Most people would agree that medical cards should be given to younger children in particular, especially children under the age of five or six. Any of us who know families with young children know that if one child gets sick, invariably the rest of the children get sick. It is worth pointing out that the public was promised full medical cards and are now getting only one eighth of the benefit of the medical card. The public has been completely short-changed by this Government. The Minister of State's reply indicates this is a more long-term plan by the Government and that it has no intention of changing it.

Will the Minister of State give a commitment to extend the doctor-only card to include, for example, people with children who are exempt from junior and leaving certificate examination fees? Will this scheme be extended over time or is it rigidly fixed as a GP-only scheme? When people receive their cards, their initial satisfaction will fade over time and they will realise they have got a very bad deal.