Liz McManus (Wicklow, Labour)
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Question 163: To ask the Minister for Health and Children to provide the most up to date numbers of people that have received a GP only card; her views on the low uptake on these cards and detail the steps taken to increase this uptake; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29517/06]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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Information supplied to my Department by the Health Service Executive (HSE) indicates that as at 1st September 2006 there were 29,175 persons holding a GP visit card.

Legislation to enable the introduction of GP visit cards was enacted in March 2005. Negotiations took place under the auspices of the Labour Relations Commission with the Irish Medical Organisation in order to facilitate the introduction of the cards and an agreement was successfully reached in September, 2005. Thus the GP visit card has been available for less than a year.

The GP visit card initiative was introduced as a graduated benefit so that people on lower incomes, particularly parents of young children, who do not qualify for a medical card would not be deterred on cost grounds from visiting their GP.

Significant changes were made in 2005 to make it easier for people to qualify for a medical card or a GP visit card. The income guidelines used to assess eligibility for the medical and GP visit card were increased by a cumulative 29%. A higher rate of increase was applied to the income allowances for children and was specifically aimed at assisting low income families. Also, the assessment of means is now based on income after tax and PRSI and full account is taken of reasonable expenses in respect of rent/mortgage payments, childcare and travel to work which has the effect of further reducing the threshold at which a person would qualify for the medical card or the GP visit card.

In June 2006 I agreed with the HSE a further adjustment to the income assessment guidelines used for GP visit cards and these are now 50% higher than those used for medical cards. Since the introduction of the GP Visit Card, the HSE has conducted two national media advertising campaigns to promote the benefit. Since July of this year the HSE has made available on its website 'www.hse.ie' a calculator which will help people to get an indication as to whether they might qualify. The HSE continues to publicise all of these change to encourage people to apply and has made the application process as simple as possible. The HSE has informed me that, in addition, a specific programme of work is being undertaken, focused on further modernisation of the administrative and operational arrangements regarding the GP visit card and related primary care schemes.

An example of the effect of these changes at the minimum qualifying threshold measure is that a married couple or a single parent with two children are allowed to earn €514 per week after tax and PRSI and qualify for a GP visit card. If these persons have rent/mortgage, childcare or travel to work expenses, then their allowed earnings would increase in accordance with these outgoings.

I believe that the substantial increases which have been made to the income guidelines in respect of both the medical card and GP visit card, allied with the HSE's campaign to encourage people to apply, ensures that the most vulnerable people in our society have free access to GP services. I have provided the funding to the HSE for 200,000 GP visit cards and I encourage people who have any difficulties in meeting their GP costs to apply for this benefit.