Mary Ann O'Brien (Independent)

To continue Senator Moloney's theme, I wish to raise the medical card for children. This would not need to be raised if we lived in a moral and just society. Despite the prosperity we have enjoyed in this country, we have forgotten the most vulnerable. These words will hit many Senators hard but that is the reality of the situation, and it is time we stopped fooling ourselves and getting caught up in the spin from the HSE and the Government of the day.

I want to read an extract from the Official Report of Dáil Éireann, 27 September 2011, vol. 741, p. 411:

566. asked the Minister for Health if he will consider extending to the families of children with serious chronic illness the current provisions for medical card renewal by persons over 70 years which allow them to renew the card by signing an affidavit that their circumstances have not changed in the past year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26225/11]

Under the general medical card scheme, medical cards are made available to persons and their dependants who would otherwise experience undue hardship in meeting the cost of general practitioners services. Eligibility for the medical card is based primarily on the means of the adult and his/her spouse or civil partner. Two years is now the average period nationally for which an individual or family holds a medical card before formal review under the general medical scheme (GMS). The review process is an important quality assurance aspect of the management of the GMS.

The medical card review process for the over 70s is based on separate legislation and the process has been simplified to facilitate older persons where there has been no change in their circumstances. Where changes in circumstances have occurred, the case is reviewed in the normal way. The HSE has no plans to change these arrangements.

Leaving the uncompassionate language aside in the answer, we should take a long, hard look at ourselves. This reply flies in the face of the last two reviews by the United Nations on the provision of child care in Ireland. Both UN reports recommend that any child with a certified illness or disability should be provided automatically with a medical card. In Ireland, however, his parents or guardians are means tested and if they fail the means test, they are left to cover medical bills. The Senator referred earlier to the case she knew in Killarney.