Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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349. To ask the Minister for Health the number of persons currently eligible under the expanded general practitioner visit card scheme, announced in August 2023, who have not yet applied; and if she will provide a breakdown, by age group, income band and county. [49419/25]

Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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350. To ask the Minister for Health the stages in the general practitioner visit card application process at which the greatest number of applicants fail to complete their applications; and the reasons identified for such non-completion, including concerns about financial data disclosure, complexity of the process and time requirements. [49420/25]

Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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351. To ask the Minister for Health if her Department has examined the use of existing State financial data sources, such as income tax returns, to reduce the requirement for general practitioner visit card applicants to submit detailed financial information manually; and the legal, privacy and logistical implications of such an approach. [49421/25]

Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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352. To ask the Minister for Health if her Department has considered simplifying or removing non-essential expenses and outgoings in the means test, or increasing the threshold limits, to reduce the rate of disqualification of otherwise eligible general practitioner visit card applicants. [49422/25]

Ken O'Flynn (Cork North-Central, Independent Ireland Party)
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353. To ask the Minister for Health the financial, staffing and information technology resources that would be required to implement a streamlined general practitioner visit card application process; and whether there is an estimate of the likely benefits in terms of increased uptake and improved health outcomes. [49423/25]

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 349 to 353, inclusive, together.

Eligibility for a GP visit card for those aged between 8 and 69 years of age is primarily based on financial assessment. In 2023, under the 2023 GMS GP Agreement, GP visit card eligibility based on financial assessment was expanded to all those earning up to the median household income. The Agreement also expanded GP visit card eligibility to all children under 8 years of age from all children under 6 years. All persons aged 70 years and over are also eligible for a GP visit card.

It is not possible to provide the current number of persons eligible for a GP visit card under the median household income expansion as the final assessment is based on personal circumstances. However, it was initially estimated 430,000 persons would be newly eligible under the median household income expansion, and 78,000 children aged 6 and 7 would be newly eligible under the under 8s expansion.

As of the start of September, there are 1,551,694 medical card holders and 766,069 GP visit card holders – an increase of 213,165 GP visit card holders since August 2023, prior to the commencement of both the under 8s and median household income GP visit card expansions.

The under 8s and median household income expansions were accompanied by an extensive and wide-ranging public information campaign to encourage eligible persons to take up the cards. Subsequent 6-week public information campaigns commenced in autumn last year and the same time this year.

In 2024, the HSE commissioned research, conducted with members of the public, to better understand why potentially eligible individuals may not have applied for a GP visit card. The findings of the research helped refine the subsequent public information campaigns to better encourage uptake of the means tested GP visit card.

A dedicated and simplified application process was made available through the HSE website for means tested GP visit card applications. While this does include some personal information and information regarding income and expenses, such information is necessary to validate the applicant’s eligibility for a GP visit card.

The granting of eligibility through means testing is considered an objective, fair and equitable approach to granting eligibility to persons with lower incomes. To be eligible for a means-tested GP visit card the applicant’s weekly net income must be below their qualifying financial threshold. The qualifying threshold calculation takes into consideration the applicant’s particular expenses as well as their income, allowing for those who have a higher income but who also experience high expenses to potentially qualify. This method helps to ensure that those with the least means to pay for GP services are eligible for GP care without charges. My Department and the HSE regularly examine ways in which application processes can be made simpler, including by linking applicants with financial information already available. However, this is not a straightforward process and it is not possible to do this at the present time.

Importantly, the research conducted found the application process to be considered easy to complete, to take less time than expected, to be straightforward and that it required minimum effort for most.