Mary Moran (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House to take this Commencement Matter. Once again I am raising the issue of medical cards. I understand the task force has stated eligibility must be assessed on the basis of financial means but I deal with the whole area of discretionary medical cards every week. People who have been diagnosed with terminal or very serious illnesses are coming to me. They have never claimed from the State, always paid their taxes and have children in college without a grant or any form of assistance from the State and yet when they are extremely ill, having been diagnosed with cancer, and look for support to cover their medical expenses, their applications are refused. I have raised the case of one family in my area. The person has been diagnosed with stage 3 cancer. This person applied for a medical card earlier this year and the application was refused. Additional and pertinent information was submitted and the application was again refused.

This person applied for a medical card as an individual. The application was not on behalf of an additional member of the family, a spouse or anyone else and yet when the response came back, the whole family was ruled ineligible. The point being made was that the application was not in respect of the family but rather the individual and that, please God, when the person would recover, that would be it. The card was wanted for the duration of the illness alone.

We should be examining the issue. There was a time when things were examined at a local level, people knew the genuine cases and they were looked on favourably. It is an additional stress for people who have been diagnosed with terminal or very serious illnesses that the card is not afforded to them. The circumstances as such do not matter but it is particularly stressful for people who have worked all their lives, paid all their taxes and done everything for the State. These people have never claimed anything. Several of these families have pointed out to me that if they had never worked and spent their lives on the dole, they would automatically be entitled to a medical card.

Will the Minister of State re-examine the situation? Also, when these medical cards are being applied for, what exactly is being applied for should be examined. This case did not involve an application for a family medical card. The application was on behalf of an individual and yet every time that was pointed out, a letter was received stating it is family related.