andMr. Donegan asked the Minister for Health if he will introduce legislation to amend section 15 (2) of the Health Act, 1953 so that (1) yearly means of a married person be taken to be one-half of the amount remaining after deducting from the sum of yearly means of the person and spouse an allowance for each dependent child of such person or of the spouse equal to the current tax-free child allowance and (2) where the yearly means of a person are derived wholly or mainly from farming, the yearly means shall be deemed to be twelve hundred pounds where the rateable valuation of the farm or farms and buildings is £60, this criterion to be applied proportionately.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Amendment of Health Acts.
186.
I am not prepared to sponsor an amendment of section 15 of the Health Act, 1953 on the lines suggested by the Deputies.
Under existing legislation, approximately 90 per cent of the population are automatically entitled to hospital and specialist services under the section in question while, in addition, health authorities have power, in their discretion, to provide such services for persons not so entitled in cases where undue hardship would otherwise occur.
In these circumstances, I consider that it would be quite unreasonable to contemplate and extension of these services, as suggested by the Deputies, to include, for example, married couples, with no children, having an income of almost £2,400 a year and farmers, in similar marital circumstances, with valuations of £120.
The Minister will appreciate that the question is concerned primarily with those who nominally may have a large income but who have a large number of dependent children who naturally make considerable in-roads in that income and having regard to the Government's acknowledgment that it would be desirable to fix certain limits, will the Minister consider this proposal whenever he introduces comprehensive legislation dealing with health matters?
I will indeed.
187.
asked the Minister for Health when he will introduce legislation to amend the Health Acts.
I would refer the Deputy to my detailed reply to his question of 28th November last.
The consultations referred to, on which the details of some parts of the legislation will depend, are not expected to be completed for some little time yet.
Would the Minister give a guarantee that the immense necessity to reform the health services and the system of financing them will not be postponed to facilitate the Government's spurious effort to interfere with the electoral laws?
Say that again.
Will the Minister give an assurance that the urgent necessity of reforming the health services and the system of financing them will not be postponed to facilitate the Government's spurious efforts to interfere with the electoral laws?
The Deputy might confine himself to health matters when he is raising supplementary questions about this very important matter. It seems the Deputy is incapable of dealing with anything without dragging politics into it. I gave an undertaking that I would re-examine the entire structure of the financing of the health services during the course of this year. I intend to honour that undertaking, no matter how much Deputy Ryan may try to make things difficult for me, including issuing public statements in which he discloses information which he was given privately.
(Interruptions).
Is the Minister going to facilitate his colleagues in the Fianna Fáil Party by postponing this legislation, even though he voted in favour of PR?
(Interruptions.)