Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry South, Independent)
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Question 1187: To ask the Minister for Health if he will provide a break down of the average waiting time incurred by persons submitting applications for medical cards; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18107/12]

Dessie Ellis (Dublin North West, Sinn Fein)
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Question 1255: To ask the Minister for Health the number of applications for medical cards which are awaiting a decision; and the average processing time for both renewal and new applications [18244/12]

Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 1187 and 1255 together.

The latest information available to me from the HSE is that 96% of complete new and renewal applications are being processed within 15 days. The HSE receives in the region of 50,000 new or renewal applications for medical cards per month. There are approximately 1,000 and 1,400 applications from January and February respectively that have not yet been processed, mainly because some further information has still to be provided by the applicant.

Over the past number of months, I engaged with the HSE to take actions to address my serious concerns about delays that individuals were experiencing when applying for a new or renewal medical card. As a result of this, the pre-Christmas backlog has now been reduced by 95%. I will continue to engage with the HSE to ensure that the level of customer care provided remains a priority.