Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)

I have a great deal of experience with this because my constituency was the first to move into the centralised system. It was quite problematic in the beginning and there were many teething problems. It is fine if an application is straightforward and the person is under the income limits. The system is very efficient and there is a 15 day turnaround. The difficulty arises where discretion is required.

First, there is the question of it being an efficient service. There were teething difficulties and I hope they are ironed out. I wrote to the HSE today asking it to assure me that there are adequate numbers of staff in place to ensure that it is an efficient service. Second, there is the matter of discretion. We need an assurance, which I have requested, that the decision makers are adequately trained and understand the hardship caused to people who are trying to get by on relatively low incomes which are a little above the income limits and to cope with all the additional expense a serious illness causes.

I have written to the HSE to seek those assurances. I wish to be satisfied that it has learned the lessons from the early days and the pilot project and that we will have a service that works for the benefit of the people applying for medical cards and who need them desperately. I will be happy to report back to the Senator when I hear from the HSE.