Vol. 348 No. 5
asked the Minister for Health the number of persons other than students, aged between 16 and 25 who will have their medical cards withdrawn under the Health Services (No. 3) Regulations, 1983; and the saving to the Exchequer arising from this move.
439.
asked the Minister for Health the number of persons other than students aged between 16 and 25, who held medical cards at 31 December 1983.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 438 and 439 together. It is not possible, without a detailed study of the relevant records, to separate students from non-students in the category of persons aged 16 to 25 years who held medical cards on 31 December 1983 or in the sub-category of these persons who were affected by the Health Services (No. 3) Regulations, 1983. The effort and cost of such a study would not be justified by the expected results. Reliable estimates of the number of non-students involved or of the possible savings to the Exchequer by the application of the regulations to these persons are not therefore available. It is likely that the great majority of the persons affected by the regulations are students.
