Marie Moloney (Labour) | Oireachtas source

Yes. I thank the Minister of State. Whoever composed his reply did not give him the correct information. The woman was without medical cover last week and her medication could not be accessed by her family at the chemist. The reply is incorrect.

The Minister of State said: "While people with specific illnesses such as cancer are not automatically entitled to medical cards..." Anyone that I have ever dealt with in my area has always received a medical card the moment they commenced active treatment for cancer, as the Minister of State knows, and they were assessed through the system. They have always been given the discretionary medical card. This is the first time I have heard of a cancer patient being refused a medical card. It is a harsh decision. The withdrawal of medical cards from cancer patients is an all-time low. It is unacceptable. How can one say to a cancer patient who is terminally ill that he or she must apply for a medical card? Most people diagnosed with cancer want to fight the disease. They want to fight it hard so will not admit even to themselves that they are terminally ill. Often, doctors do not tell a patient his or her diagnosis is terminal until after every course of treatment has been tried first. A doctor will not tell a patient straight out that he or she is terminally ill unless the cancer is extremely aggressive. A doctor will fight to save the life of a patient even though the end result may be the same. I find it harsh that we have resorted to removing medical cards from cancer patients.