Vol. 537 No. 2
210 Cecilia Keaveney asked the Minister for Health and Children his views on whether all persons whose carer is in receipt of a domiciliary care allowance for them should be automatically entitled to a medical card; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15619/01]
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 if 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 justify it. Medical cards may also be awarded to individual family members on this basis.
The domiciliary care allowance is paid by health boards in respect of eligible children up to the age of 16 years who are so severely disabled or mentally handicapped that they require care and attention considerably in excess of that normally required by a child of the same age. It is open to those in receipt of domiciliary care allowance to apply to the chief executive officer of the appropriate health board for health services if they are unable to provide these services for those in their care without hardship. The Deputy may be aware that in keeping with the commitment under the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness, the health board chief executive officers are examining the operations 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. In addition, the whole area of eligibility is currently under consideration in the context of the new national health strategy.
