Jack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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Question 937: To ask the Minister for Defence the entitlements of members of the Defence Forces to free medical treatment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15196/06]

Jack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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Question 938: To ask the Minister for Defence the entitlements of families of members of the Defence Forces to free medical treatment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15197/06]

Jack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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Question 939: To ask the Minister for Defence if families of members of the Defence Forces cannot obtain a doctor under the GMS scheme; if he will permit those families to be treated by the Defence Forces medical staff; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15198/06]

Willie O'Dea (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 937 to 939, inclusive, together.

The Medical Corps is a combat support service corps of the Defence Forces. The core objective of the Medical Corps is to maximise the medical readiness of the Defence Forces for operational activities and to provide field medical support to brigade structured Defence Forces. The mission of the Medical Corps is to ensure and co-ordinate the provision of medical, dental and pharmaceutical support to the Defence Forces in the execution of their roles as assigned by Government.

Military medical services and their facilities exist to maintain the health of the Defence Forces and support them in operational and overseas activities. The focus of the military medical service is on primary care, acute trauma management, preventative medical programmes and field medical training. The services of civilian general practitioners are regularly engaged to provide primary care when medical officers are not available. Serving members of the Defence Forces are provided with free medical treatment within military medical facilities by medical officers of the Defence Forces. The Defence Forces are normally dependent on civilian health care facilities for the provision of higher level hospital inpatient services for members of the Defence Forces. The costs of such external medical services are met by the Defence Forces and the Department.

The families of serving members of the Defence Forces have no entitlement to the provision of any medical services by the Medical Corps, either directly or indirectly. The Medical Corps does not have the capability, nor is it its role, to provide civilian medical services for families of members of the Defence Forces. The sole exception to this policy is the clinic for families of personnel serving in the Curragh Camp where, for essentially historical reasons, the Medical Corps has provided a general practitioner service to the families of enlisted personnel who are serving with military units based on the Curragh. The question of individual eligibility for a medical card under the Department of Health and Children's general medical service scheme — GMS — is a matter for determination by the local administration of the Health Service Executive in light of the relevant guidelines.