Liam Twomey (Fine Gael)

Will the Minister of State explain how these figures are reached? Why is she picking the figures of €700 and €1,400 per week? Are they just arbitrary? Another issue arises as to how this legislation may affect people. Some people who were issued with medical cards since the budget were told that their cards were valid only until the end of December. Does that mean those individuals are outside the scope of this legislation because they must apply under the new scheme in January? Has the Department sent out letters to all GPs informing them about their contracts with the HSE regarding this issue? To the best of my knowledge, there is a three-month period for those contracts. The Minister of State said she is introducing a provision on 1 January, but she has not yet terminated the contracts that will support this legislation.