Vol. 504 No. 1
64 Mr. McDowell asked the Minister for Health and Children the reason a person of 21 is treated as dependent on his or her parents for the purpose of assessment of means for medical card purposes but is treated as independent for the purposes of the drugs refund scheme. [11217/99]
The operation of the general medical services scheme and the drug refund scheme are matters for the chief executive officers of the health boards.
A person aged 21 who is financially dependent on his-her parents is regarded as a dependant for both the medical card scheme and the drugs refund scheme. Similarly, a person aged 16 years or over who is financially independent of his-her parents is assessed on his-her own means for a medical card and is also treated as independent with regard to the drugs refund scheme.
