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Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 1 Dec 1987

Vol. 376 No. 1

Written Answers - Farmers' Medical Card Assessment.

51.

asked the Minister for Health if the viewpoint of the Ombudsman in regard to farmers' medical card assessment by health boards being out of line with sound administration will lead him to consider changes in the method of assessment, as the Ombudsman has also stated that the present method is unfair.

Medical cards are issued to persons who are unable without undue hardship to provide general practitioner medical and surgical services for themselves and their dependants. The determination of eligibility for a medical card is a matter for the chief executive officer of the appropriate health board.

To ensure uniformity of decision chief executive officers have adopted a set of guidelines and all applicants including farmers are assessed in accordance with these guidelines.

The difficulty in relation to farmers arises not from the assessment as such but from the determination of the farmers' income which is a prerequisite to assessment.

The viewpoint of the Ombudsman referred to a specific case investigated in a particular health board area and there is no finding by the Ombudsman that there is general unfairness. The particular health board has accepted and adopted the Ombudsman's recommendations for future cases.

In these circumstances I see no reason to intervene in the matter.

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