Frances Fitzgerald (Fine Gael)

I have just come from a meeting that was held in a church that was attended by hundreds of elderly people. They were not there for prayer or mass, they were there to defend their entitlement to a medical card, their basic right to universality, a right the nation gave them seven years ago but that has been taken away from them. It was one of the most uplifting meetings I have attended, in terms of seeing the power of the elderly people there and their willingness to come along and to fight for what they feel is right. It was also one of the saddest meetings I have ever attended because people were driven to go along to it to defend their rights. That raises enormous questions about what we value in society and what are the values we want to underpin by our legislation and our approach to health policy.

What was announced this morning does not restore the peace of mind that has been taken away from elderly people. The attack on the over 70s remains in place. There has been no discussion about the problems of means testing, the huge attrition rate from it, the number of people who do not apply, and the humiliation people feel. The scheme outlined this morning will create a number of problems, but above all it will create a two-tier system for the elderly, namely, those who were eligible before the budget and those eligible after the budget. It has taken peace of mind away from the elderly.

Fiscal policy could have been used instead of taking that approach. When the elderly consider what has happened to many high rollers and the tax reliefs they got over many years, they are entitled to ask where is the equity in the recent proposal from the Government. I ask the Leader to invite the Minister for Health and Children to the House today. I propose an amendment to the Order of Business to discuss the withdrawal of the medical card from the over 70s. We should be discussing the matter in the Seanad. The whole country is talking about it.