Séamus Healy (Tipperary, Workers and Unemployed Action Group)
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454. To ask the Minister for Health the steps he will take to address the inordinate delays of ten to 15 working days to register medical card applications and match up additional information to existing applications; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5903/17]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The Primary Care Reimbursement Service has a target to have 96% of properly completed medical/GP visit card applications processed within 15 days of the application having been received by the HSE. The current turnaround is 99.67% within 15 days. This refers to applications, again properly completed, that enable an assessor to make a determination on eligibility under the scheme.

The length of time that it takes for applicants to receive a decision on their medical card applications where a fully completed application form was not submitted, depends on how quickly the applicants respond to the subsequent request for additional information. Once the outstanding documentation is received, the assessment is prioritised without delay.

The HSE provides weekly statistics on turnaround times on its website www.hse.ie/eng/services/list/schemes/mc.

The Health Service Executive has been asked to examine the issue raised in relation to matching existing information with new applications and will reply directly to the Deputy.