Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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582. To ask the Minister for Health if, after awarding a medical card for a young child (details supplied) suffering from acute quadriplegic cerebral palsy until 2015, he expected a major change in the family's circumstances in the first seven months of the issuance of the card; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6336/14]

Alex White (Dublin South, Labour)
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The Health Service Executive operates under the legislative framework of the Health Act of 1970, as subsequently amended. The assessment for a medical card is determined primarily by reference to the means, including the income and reasonable expenditure, of the applicant and his or her partner and dependants. In the interest of probity, the HSE is obliged to ensure that a person’s eligibility is correctly recorded in line with the eligibility legislation and the national guidelines.

There is no legal basis for the HSE to award a medical card/GP visit card to persons with serious medical conditions on the basis of their medical condition alone, irrespective of their income/means or in the case of a child, their parents’ income/means.

The standard procedure for the review of medical cards for persons aged 66 years or older is that their medical card will be reviewed every 4 years. For persons under the age of 66 years, the length of validity of a medical card is 3 years. Depending on the individual's circumstances, it may be issued for a shorter period. If an individual's circumstances change, he/she must inform the HSE, as he/she may no longer be eligible. In addition to the standard assessment and review processes above, random audits of eligibility are being undertaken by the HSE on an on-going basis. If selected for review under this process, the Medical Card holder will be informed and requested to submit up to date income details.

Any medical card holder undergoing a review to renew a medical card, who genuinely engages with the HSE in that review, will not have their entitlement withdrawn before the review is complete, regardless of the expiry date shown on their medical card. In cases where a decision is made not to grant a medical card, the applicant is informed of the decision and is notified of their right to appeal this decision. Contact details for the appeals office are provided to them. Where a person submits an appeal to a decision not to renew a medical card within 21 days of that decision, he/she retains the medical card or GP visit card until the appeal is decided.

I am advised by the HSE that a Medical Card was issued for Moya Nason and a GP Visit Card was issued for the other Nason family members on 2 May 2012. These were valid until 30 April 2015. The family were chosen for review, under the random review procedure and were notified of this on 19 December 2013. Following this review, the HSE altered the expiry date to 31 March 2014.