Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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46. To ask the Minister for Health his plans to legislate for a distinct new medical need ground for eligibility for the medical card with an assessment involving the establishment of a threshold of medical need and not tested against a household’s financial means or against diagnosis titles; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20916/16]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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On foot of the Keane Report, Report of the Expert Panel on Medical Need for Medical Card Eligibility, the HSE established a Clinical Advisory Group to develop clinical oversight and guidance for the operation of a more compassionate and trusted medical card system. Its establishment followed the completion of the work of the Expert Panel on Medical Need for Medical Card Eligibility. The 2014 "Keane" Report of the Expert Panel on Medical Need for Medical Card Eligibility found that it is not feasible, desirable, or ethically justifiable to list medical conditions for medical card eligibility. The membership of the Clinical Advisory Group includes clinical experts from specialist services and professions, as well as patient representatives. The Group reports to the National Director of Primary Care on a quarterly basis. The Clinical Advisory Group is continuing its work on the development of guidance on assessing medical card applications involving significant medical conditions. It is expected that the Group will make a report to the Director General of the HSE shortly.