Séamus Healy (Tipperary, Workers and Unemployed Action Group)
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198. To ask the Minister for Health when children in receipt of the domiciliary care allowance will be issued with a full medical card as announced in budget 2017; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38969/16]

Seán Fleming (Laois, Fianna Fail)
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229. To ask the Minister for Health when medical cards will be provided to all children in receipt of the domiciliary care allowance as announced in budget 2017; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39040/16]

Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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232. To ask the Minister for Health when arrangements will be made to provide automatic medical cards to children that are in receipt of a domiciliary care allowance as he outlined in Dáil Éireann in July 2016; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39098/16]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 198, 229 and 232 together.

I have recently received permission from Government for my Department to prepare the Heads and General Scheme of a Bill to give children in receipt of DCA automatic entitlement to a medical card. This new legislation will effectively mean that all children in respect of whom a DCA payment is made will automatically qualify for a medical card and, therefore, no longer be subject to the medical cards means test at any point in the future while in receipt of DCA. It is my objective to have this legislation prepared and brought before the Oireachtas as quickly as possible. In addition to the preparation of the legislation, I have asked the HSE, so that the proposal can be implemented in a smooth and efficient manner, to commence the process of planning for the requirements of the scheme and how the cards will issue.