Aindrias Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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182. To ask the Minister for Health if there will be a separate application process for the medical card for those in receipt of domiciliary care allowance or if it will be automatically granted to them; and the timeframe for when this process will commence. [8891/17]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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This is a Programme for Government Commitment which received funding in Budget 2017. I received permission from Government to draft the relevant Bill in December 2016. 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 card means test at any point in the future while in receipt of DCA. The drafting of the legislation is at an advanced stage and will be brought before the Oireachtas as quickly as possible. The HSE has commenced the process of planning for the introduction of the scheme.

Any clients who are in receipt of Domiciliary Care Allowance (DCA) but who do not currently hold Medical Card eligibility will be able to apply for a Medical Card under the DCA entitlement in two ways: through an online application system modelled off the Under 6/Over 70 GP Visit Card registration system or by completing an application form and posting it to the HSE Medical Card Services. Once the application is received, the HSE will validate the receipt of a DCA payment through data sharing with the Department of Social Protection (DSP). The HSE will be in a position to validate all those clients who are in receipt of DCA and who also currently hold eligibility to GP Visit cards through data sharing with the DSP. There will be no requirement for these clients to apply for Medical Card eligibility as this can be automated through current systems.

My objective is that this measure will be put into effect as soon as possible.