Marie Moloney (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House. I expected the Minister for Health, Deputy Varadkar. I mean the Minister of State no disrespect, but this matter is under the remit of the Minister for Health. I regret that I have to bring this matter to the floor of the Seanad. I have tried every other avenue open to me.

The lady concerned was the holder of a discretionary medical card for many years. Her case was due for review and she reapplied and was refused. She did not even receive a GP visit card. She reapplied a second time and was again refused. The case was reviewed and appealed, and was unsuccessful. I have to raise this issue here because when I rang the medical card office the person to whom I spoke would not even acknowledge that the women had had a discretionary medical card. He kept telling me that it did not show up on the computer. That was the answer I kept getting from him, which was absolutely appalling. I just had to hang up. I asked how the person could explain the fact that this woman's husband had not received a medical card if it was not a discretionary card.

The lady has a very complicated medical history. She suffers from arthritis, osteoporosis, hyperthyroidism, hiatus hernia, polymyalgia rheumatica and two other conditions that I cannot even pronounce, which are written down here if the Minister of State wants to read them. She has had one knee replacement and is awaiting another, but the operation cannot be carried out as a result of poor healing because of her polymyalgia and other ongoing conditions. She is a priority for surgery. She also has inflammatory disease, with swelling and deformity of MCP joints in her hands. She has no option but to attend a GP more than 20 times a year, along with very regular blood monitoring. She also has to attend the hospital for outpatient assessments on a regular basis. Along with all of this, she has to undergo surgery again, which will necessitate a lengthy stay in hospital. One consultant refused to take her on because her medical condition was too complicated. One can see why she is extremely worried about the cost of her health care.

On top of that, her husband is also on medication. He is 65 years of age and has the option to continue working until the age of 66 if he wants to, but he has to weigh up his options. If he gives up work and claims social welfare, that will be their only income. She is in receipt of invalidity pension and he will receive jobseeker's allowance for nine or 12 months. When one is in receipt of social welfare as one's only source of income, one receives a medical card. That is how much value they place on a discretionary medical card. The couple applied for one only for the wife. Their financial circumstances had not changed, and they could not understand why the medical card was taken away.

I understood that all of those who had discretionary medical cards which were removed had them returned after the furore a year or two ago.The woman in question is on an invalidity pension, meaning the Department of Social Protection recognises she has a complicated medical condition but the Department of Health does not.