Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)

I hope the Senators would agree that I am not reading off a script and am genuinely responding to the questions as they emerge. I want to be honest and straightforward on all of this. Whether it is the enhanced medical card or the HAA card, if there are challenges around waiting lists and access, I would respectfully say that we still have the same problem.

On an earlier point made by Senator Craughwell, we need to make sure that every single person in the HSE knows there is already a direction that if a person is a survivor of abuse, he or she should be moved ahead.That is very clear and that is what has been relayed to me. Certainly, the information I have is that where those who are in receipt of the enhanced medical card have been victims and are now survivors of abuse, they should be brought forward in that list.

To the Senator's earlier point, I am happy to engage with the Minister for Health. If we need more clear direction for members of the HSE to make sure they know what the enhanced medical card is, who is availing of it and what they should be getting, we need to do that. I am happy to make that clear and to engage with my colleague in the Department of Health in that regard. Again, we are not putting a limit on the therapies or counselling services; it is about making sure they are there and that we have enough therapists. We have to invest in our services overall. I will repeat, and this is not to go around Senator Boyhan 's question, that I can only work within the parameters I have because they are legally directly linked to those who were in the previous schemes. That is never to rule out engagement with any other institution or any other individual who has suffered abuse. If there is engagement or work I can do to support other individuals who do not fall within the scheme, I am always happy to do that and to engage within them. I appreciate these are people who are very directly linked to the initial scheme that was set up because this is legally linked to it. This is winding down so that we can provide these supports. I want to make sure that everybody involved here has access to the supports. More than 16,000 people will have access to these supports once this legislation is enacted, and it is really important that people do have access to them.