The Health (Alteration of Criteria for Eligibility) (No. 2) Act 2013 sets out that, when a person attains the age of 70, the medical card income limits are €500 gross income per week for a single person and €900 gross income per week for a couple.
The Government recognised that the living costs of an individual living alone are more than half the living costs of a couple living together and that expenditure does not necessarily diminish relative to the number of people in the household. This is recognised, inter alia, through the provision of the Living Alone Allowance increase and differential income thresholds for medical cards for persons aged under 70 between individuals and couples.
In that context, the over 70s' income limit for a single person was reduced proportionately less that the income limit for a couple. There are no proposals to change this assessment process and it is not seen to constitute discrimination under equality legislation.