Nikki Bradley (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will try to keep the story quick. I was approached last week by the daughter-in-law of an elderly man who lives in Donegal who has been an amputee since the eighties. To briefly share how he lost his leg, it was in a farming accident. When I heard what he did straight away after the accident, I could not believe it. He picked up the leg that was severed in a tractor accident, hopped up the field, got into his car, drove to his house and then said he needed to go get help.

Aside from the fact he is a living legend, I was disgusted to hear what had happened to him since. I found out last week that he had been trying to get around on a prosthetic leg that is more than 15 years old. I obviously know what it is like to get around on a prosthetic. Mine is only three years old and it is already on the way out. I asked his daughter-in-law to send me pictures of the leg because I wanted to see what it looked like, and I could not believe that is being held together with duct tape.

As this patient is a farm owner, he is not eligible for a medical card. He has been encouraged to appeal if he feels the need to. Prosthetic legs cost anywhere in the range from about €10,000 to €20,000, depending on what type they are. He does not have the money for that, but he is in dire need of a new leg. He fell to the ground recently and dislocated his shoulder because the leg was so unfit for purpose that it completely fell off. Ever since, because his balance is off, he has fallen at least three times.

This is just one case of many. In fairness, I have already approached the Minister about this and her team are doing everything they can to try to help this gentleman, but we need to realise that people with prosthetics should be given access to medical cards. It should not be means tested. I would invite the Minister to come to the House to discuss this further.