John Kelly (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I support Senator Mary Ann O'Brien's contribution. The comprehensive report on the EPA was to be published on 4 November. We request that it be published before the end of next week. We know that once the general election is called, that will be the end of the report and that it will not see the light of day. I agree with much of what Senator Mary Ann O'Brien said. In 2008, when I was a county councillor, I said it was either the air or the water that was causing causing and I still believe it today. That is why it is very important that this comprehensive report be published.

I raise an issue I have been raising for five years, namely, medical cards. It is still very difficult today for somebody to receive a medical card. There are all kinds of problem when a person rings the Primary Care Reimbursement Service, PCRS. Everything is grand if the person submits the required documentation and does not leave anything out and he or she will receive a decision in about two weeks. However, if he or she leaves out even one document, the PCRS will send notification that it is required. However, when it is sent, it goes to a different person. Then, when we make representations on the issue, somebody from the PCRS will ring us, but it is not the same staff member with whom the applicant has been dealing. I am dealing with one case in which I had been trying to explain to one PCRS staff member that the family in question were dealing with gambling issues, something about which the PCRS would not know. However, the next time I looked for further information on the case, I had to deal with somebody else. I have now dealt with five staff members. All of the documentation has been sent, yet last week I was told that the PCRS still required more. I sent the whole lot again and I am now told that the PCRS has enough information and that it can look at the case. However, I can guarantee the House that when I ring again next week, somebody else will say all of the documentation required has not been received. When applications for medical cards were dealt with locally, the applicant was dealt with by one person who gathered all of the information required. Now, it seems, information is required all over the place in the PCRS. Everybody has a bit of the application and there is no one to join everything up. It is a serious matter and the Minister needs to sort it out.