Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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178. To ask the Minister for Health if the committee which is currently reviewing eligibility for medical cards will consider the question of eligibility for long-term illness cards; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34905/14]

Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
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The Government decided that, in consultation with the Office of the Attorney General and the Department of Public Expenditure, the Minister for Health would revert to Government with options for providing eligibility for a range of health services on the basis of specific and defined medical conditions. The Director-General of the Health Service Executive established an Expert Panel to examine and recommend the range of medical conditions that should be considered as a basis of eligibility. The Expert Panel is chaired by Professor Frank Keane, past-president of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and clinical lead of the National Clinical Programme for Surgery. The panel includes a range of 23 clinical experts from primary care, specialist services and therapies. The panel also includes a patient representative to ensure that the views of patients are central to the process. The Expert Panel is to report to the Director General of the HSE, who will then advise the Minister of the outcome of the deliberations of the Expert Panel.

The Long Term Illness (LTI) Scheme was established under Section 59(3) of the Health Act, 1970 (as amended). Regulations were made in 1971, 1973 and 1975 specifying the conditions covered by the LTI Scheme, which are as follows: Acute Leukaemia; Mental handicap; Cerebral Palsy; Mental Illness (in a person under 16); Cystic Fibrosis; Multiple Sclerosis; Diabetes Insipidus; Muscular Dystrophies; Diabetes Mellitus; Parkinsonism; Epilepsy; Phenylketonuria; Haemophilia; Spina Bifida; Hydrocephalus; and conditions arising from the use of Thalidomide. There are no plans to extend the list of conditions covered by the LTI Scheme.

Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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179. To ask the Minister for Health his views on extending entitlement to a long-term illness card for people who are suffering from Huntington's disease; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34906/14]

Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)
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The Long Term Illness (LTI) Scheme was established under Section 59(3) of the Health Act, 1970 (as amended). Regulations were made in 1971, 1973 and 1975 specifying the conditions covered by the LTI Scheme, which are as follows: Acute Leukaemia; Mental handicap; Cerebral Palsy; Mental Illness (in a person under 16); Cystic Fibrosis; Multiple Sclerosis; Diabetes Insipidus; Muscular Dystrophies; Diabetes Mellitus; Parkinsonism; Epilepsy; Phenylketonuria; Haemophilia; Spina Bifida; Hydrocephalus; and conditions arising from the use of Thalidomide. There are no plans to extend the list of conditions covered by the LTI Scheme.

Under the Drug Payment Scheme, no individual or family pays more than €144 per calendar month towards the cost of approved prescribed medicines. The scheme significantly reduces the cost burden for families and individuals incurring ongoing expenditure on medicines.

Under the provisions of the Health Acts, medical cards are provided to persons who are, in the opinion of the Health Service Executive (HSE), unable without undue hardship to arrange GP services for themselves and their dependants. In the assessment process, the HSE can take into account medical costs incurred by an individual or a family.