Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Independent)
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1056. To ask the Minister for Health if terminally ill children will be supplied with medical cards before the Government delivers medical cards to all children under five years of age; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45874/13]

Alex White (Dublin South, Labour)
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The HSE has an effective system in place for the provision of emergency medical cards for patients who are terminally ill, or who are seriously ill and in urgent need of medical care that they cannot afford. They are issued within twenty-four hours of receipt of the required patient details and the letter of confirmation of the condition from a doctor or a medical consultant. With the exception of terminally ill patients, the HSE issues all emergency cards on the basis that the patient is eligible for a medical card on the grounds of means or undue hardship, and that the applicant will follow up with a full application within a number of weeks of receiving the emergency card.

As a result, emergency medical cards are issued to a named individual, with a limited eligibility period of six months. For persons with a terminal illness, no means test applies. Once the terminal illness is verified, patients are given an emergency medical card for six months. Given the nature and urgency of the issue, the HSE has appropriate escalation routes to ensure that the person gets the card as quickly as possible. If a baby is in palliative care, an emergency medical card may be issued by the HSE. Neither a birth certificate not a personal public service number for the baby is required in such instances in order to apply for a medical card.

The Government is committed to introducing, on a phased basis, a universal GP service without fees within its term of office, as set out in the Programme for Government and the Future Health strategy framework. As announced in the Budget, it has been decided to commence the roll-out of a universal GP service by providing all children aged 5 and under with access to a GP service without fees. This will mean that almost half of the population will have access to GP services without fees. The Government is providing new, additional funding of €37 million to meet the cost of this measure. The implementation of this measure will require primary legislation. The necessary administrative arrangements will be made during the course of 2014 when the specifics of the legislation are known.