Mark Wall (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I support Senator Ó Donnghaile's amendment. He is right in what he says about Cahersiveen. He mentioned my colleague, Senator Hoey, who has raised this very important issue. We will back his call for an amendment.

The issue I wish to raise is that of medical cards, particularly the renewal of same. I ask the Deputy Leader to invite the Minister for Health to the House in order that we might debate with him the issues surrounding medical cards at this time. This is nothing new for me to bring up here. In April, the then Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, in reply to a question I asked him here, stated that he did not want to see medical card renewals "become a burden for people during this time". In fairness, he stated that he made this clear to his Department and the HSE. This seemed to work, and I am sure Members will have dealt with cases in which medical card holders had been told their renewals were okay until 2021 and beyond. The reason I bring this up today is that I have had a number of calls this week and, even though we are still in the middle of a pandemic and supposedly "all in this together", it looks as if renewals are back on the table again. One such call I got this week, on Tuesday, was from a man in his late 60s. He had spent seven months in hospital, most of that time, unfortunately, with the dreaded Covid virus. He has a medical card that is valid until the end of October, but one of the first letters he received on his arrival home stated that he must renew his medical card. These cards, as I have said previously, are comfort blankets for so many people. The stress this man is now under is unbelievable. This should not be the case. As the previous Minister for Health said, he did not want to see medical card renewals being a burden in April due to the pandemic. We are still in that pandemic, and that is why I am asking for the current Minister to come before us.

I also wish to use this opportunity, as fellow Senators have done in recent weeks, to support John Wall in his campaign for automatic medical cards for terminally ill patients. Unfortunately, like other Members, I am sure, I know too well the process John and those with terminal cancer are being put through. I will continue to fight for a one-tier health system whereby the State, rather than those who see health as a profit-making exercise, would control treatment and healthcare costs. In the meantime, for people such as John Wall, the least we should do is provide the comfort blanket that is a medical card at a time they need it most.