Mary Moran (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I support Senator Hildegarde Naughton's call for a debate on the horrific discovery of a mass grave in Tuam where it is believed up to 800 babies and young children were buried in a septic tank.

I also refer to the Government's recent announcement that the review of discretionary medical cards will be suspended pending the establishment of a new expert panel and the development of a policy framework that will take medical conditions into account. This is something for which I have been calling. I raised the issue as recently as last week and wholeheartedly welcome the Government's decision to step back and examine the process. Even though it has taken a long time for the announcement to be made, I am pleased that we will now see action on the matter. I have spoken to numerous individuals and families about this issue. I have been shocked by some of the cases in which a medical card has been removed. We need clear and comprehensive guidelines under which HSE medical card staff can operate when making decisions. We also need clarity for the many people who have had their discretionary medical cards revoked in recent months. There have been umpteen interviews and media reports in the past 24 hours, in particular. Many representatives of the health and political sectors have stated different positions on the restoration of medical cards. There is a high level of uncertainty and there are reports on children and individuals having their medical cards returned after making their cases known publicly-----