Mary Moran (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I have raised this issue several times. It relates to the removal of medical cards and the need to implement medical cards for children with disabilities, including moderate intellectual disabilities. In recent months, I have been inundated by representations from people whose medical cards have been removed.

That is despite the fact that there have been severe cutbacks in the services they are trying to access. Their respite care grant has been cut, while waiting times for such services have become longer. I appreciate that there are more medical cards now than a few years ago, but some of these people have been told that they earn €58 or €62 too much to qualify for medical cards. One must consider, however, how much it costs for parents of the children involved, in addition to those aged over 18, to access services they cannot obtain in the public domain. They are spending far in excess of those who are in receipt of medical cards.

More discretion should be exercised when it comes to granting medical cards for those with disabilities. For example, I know of one family whose child requires special orthopaedic shoes. Such shoes would cost over €900 a pair. A child might need three pairs of shoes annually, yet the parents may be told that they earn too much to get a medical card. The cost of private physiotherapy and occupational therapy far outweighs what it would cost to grant a family a medical card on financial grounds. The Minister of State should examine the situation. Hopefully the forthcoming budget will provide better access to health care services. The Minister of State should consider those who greatly require medical cards for their children with disabilities. They do not abuse the system by visiting the doctor every day, yet they need the security a medical card can offer to access the medical care and attention they require.