Nicky McFadden (Fine Gael)

I second the Fine Gael amendment to the Order of Business. The Minister must come to the House to debate this issue.

The introduction of the free medical card for the over-70s has allowed elderly people to continue living in their own homes with dignity, their health has been restored and a large amount saved for the State. Through this, they also have not been exposed to contracting MRSA in hospitals and have had the use of facilities such as public health nurses, physiotherapy and occupational therapy. The unpleasant jobs which must be done for elderly persons with dementia or who cannot look after themselves have also been covered. However, for those over-70s who may lose the medical card, the facility of incontinence pads for free, for example, will no longer be available to them. Many of these people came to my clinic in recent days, terrified they will lose their medical cards.