asked the Minister for Health the number of medical card holders in the country on the 31st March in each of the years 1953 to 1960, inclusive.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Medical Card Holders.
3.
The provisions of Section 14 of the Health Act, 1953, under which medical cards are issued by health authorities, did not come into operation until 1st August, 1954, and the first issue of medical cards was not completed in all areas for some time after that date. Comprehensive statistics of the numbers entitled to services under this section of the Act were not collected prior to 1956 and the form of the statistics for that year and the early part of 1957 does not enable me to provide precisely the information sought by the Deputy in respect of those years. I have however embodied the available information in a table which, with your permission, a Cheann Comhairle, I propose to circulate with the Official Report.
The following is the table:
|
Total number of applications for medical cards granted |
|
|
up to 29/2/'56 |
174,237 |
|
31/3/'57 |
259,356 |
|
Number of Medical Cards current on 30/6/1957 |
262,391 |
|
31/3/1958 |
264,573 |
|
31/3/1959 |
278,455 |
|
*31/12/1959 |
269,665 |
*Latest available figure.