Vol. 534 No. 1
172 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Health and Children the extent to which it is proposed to extend the availability of medical cards to qualified applicants, if it is intended to liberalise such eligibility in the near future and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10240/01]
Entitlement to health services in Ireland is primarily based on means. Under the Health Act, 1970, determination of eligibility for medical cards is the responsibility of the chief executive officer of the appropriate health board. Medical cards are issued to persons who, in the opinion of the chief executive officer, are unable to provide general practitioner medical and surgical services for themselves and their dependants, without undue hardship.
Income guidelines are drawn up to assist in the determination of a person's eligibility and these are revised annually in line with the consumer price index. However, the 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\her medical needs or other circumstances would justify this. Medical cards may also be awarded to individual family members on this basis.
It is open to all persons to apply to the chief executive officer of the appropriate health board for health services, if they are unable to provide these services for themselves or their dependants without hardship. In the budget 2001 package, this Government announced its intention to extend the eligibility for a medical card to all persons aged 70 and over, to come into effect on 1 July, 2001.
The Deputy may be aware that, under the programme for prosperity and fairness, the health board chief executive officers are examining the operation of the medical card scheme in consultation with the social partners. Particular emphasis is being placed on the needs of families with children, and on removing anomalies and barriers to take-up, including information deficits.
