Mary Moran (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I join others in welcoming the Lord Mayor, Councillor Oisín Quinn, to the House. It is great to see him here.

I would like to raise some concerns that have become increasingly more prevalent and have received increasingly more representations concerning people with an intellectual disability being refused medical cards or having their medical cards taken from them. I firmly believe that people with an intellectual disability should have an automatic entitlement to a medical card. It is well known that people with an intellectual disability and a physical disability will have greater medical needs both in terms of medical care and appliances. In some cases items as simple as a pair of shoes can cost more than €900.

I have had representations recently from parents who have had no additional aid or grant to help them adapt their houses or part of their houses, or to cover any apart of the medical costs for their child because their medical card has been refused. Free GP care is being introduced for those under the age of six - with which I do not have a problem - regardless of their parents' income. We need to examine that area. I call on the Leader to arrange for an urgent debate with the Minister on the entitlements of people with an intellectual disability to address this situation which is becoming more urgent on a daily basis.