Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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448. To ask the Minister for Health if he will consider awarding medical cards to victims of institutional abuse who have been awarded compensation by the redress board; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31861/16]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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As part of a support package, including a range of financial payments, that was approved by Government for former residents of Magdalen Laundries, eligibility for health services for the Magdalen women is provided by the Redress for Women Resident in Certain Institutions Act 2015. The Act sets out the primary and community health services made available, free of charge, to qualifying women. The health services included in the legislation are: a general practitioner service; prescribed drugs, medicines, aids and appliances; dental, ophthalmic and aural services; home nursing; home support; chiropody; physiotherapy; and counselling services. In addition, the prescription fee is not be payable for all medicines, medical devices or other medical products that are reimbursed by the community drug schemes. A specific card has been issued to the qualifying women so that they can access the health services they require without charge, as set out in the Act.

There are no proposals at present to extend automatic eligibility to other victims of institutional abuse.

However, where there are people with medical needs it is important that they should be able to access necessary assistance in a straight forward manner. It is clear greater discretion is being exercised by the HSE because the number of discretionary medical cards in circulation has increased from about 52,000 in mid-2014 to over 110,453 as of 1 September this year.