Vol. 520 No. 1
224 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for Health and Children if he will reduce the age threshold from 70 in respect of qualifying for the double income guideline for medical cards which is currently being put in place. [15180/00]
The Government identified in its programme, An Action Programme for the Millennium, the need to review medical card eligibility for the elderly and large families and decided that the income guidelines for entitlement to medical cards for persons aged 70 years or over should be doubled. This improvement, which is being introduced over a three year period, began on 1 March 1999. The income guidelines for those aged 70 to 79 and 80 years and over, which are already higher than the normal guidelines, increased by one third in 1999. The second stage of this process was implemented on 1 March 2000 and the third stage will be implemented in March 2001.
The Deputy will be aware that under the Health Act, 1970, determination of eligibility for medical cards is the responsibility of the chief executive officer of the appropriate health board. Health Board chief executive officers set medical card income guidelines annually. These guidelines are not statutorily binding, and even though a person's income exceeds the guidelines, a medical card may still be awarded if the chief executive officer considers that his or her medical needs or other circumstances would justify this. Medical cards may also be issued to individual family members on this basis.
