Frances Fitzgerald (Fine Gael)

I move amendment No. 9:

In page 6, before section 5, to insert the following new section:

"5.—(1) Notwithstanding any provision of this Bill, any person the subject of undue hardship or terminal illness, may apply to the Health Information and Quality Authority for a recommendation that they be issued with a discretionary medical card.

(2) The Health Service Executive shall issue a discretionary medical card to the applicant within 4 weeks of a recommendation under subsection 1 being made.".

This amendment concerns discretionary medical cards. The two amendments to section 5 aim to flesh out and provide a statutory basis to comments made by the Minister and her Department on the issuing of discretionary medical cards. Under these amendments any terminally ill person or person experiencing hardship may apply to the Health Information and Quality Authority for a recommendation that he or she be issued with a medical card.

The amendment also proposes that if such a recommendation is made, and given the extreme circumstances a person in such a situation would find himself or herself, a medical card must be issued to the person within four weeks.

We also propose the insertion of a new section to give HIQA the authority to make such recommendations. This would provide older patients with an additional opportunity to obtain or avail of the services of a medical card should their income levels exceed those in the Bill, but if terminal illness or hardship of other sorts exist, provision would also be made in such circumstances.

This issue was discussed here previously and in the Dáil when examples were cited of people who were terminally ill who were refused medical cards. I read that the Minister said yesterday that she did not believe that should be the situation. These amendments are an attempt to ensure that such provision is enshrined in the legislation, that such people would be issued a medical card and that HIQA would be given the authority to make such a recommendation.