asked the Minister for Health if he will provide aid towards the provision of artificial cardiac pace-makers for those five or six persons in the upper income group who require them annually in view of the high cost, £350, of this apparatus which has to be replaced every two or three years.
Ceisteanna — Questions. Oral Answers. - Cardiac Pace-makers.
9.
Health boards are empowered to provide assistance to persons, outside the eligible groups, where the boards consider that the persons concerned would be unable, without undue hardship, to provide the required service out of their own resources. Each application is treated on its merits and I can assure the Deputy that no case of genuine hardship is turned down. The provision mentioned above covers, inter alia, the making available of assistance towards the cost of expensive apparatus such as cardiac pace-makers.
Would the Minister include this in the list of things that are made available free?
I prefer to leave it to the CEOs and their delegated officers so that they can judge each case on its merits.
The idea of having to make applications and humiliate themselves by submitting all the details may put people off. Would the Minister not think that in view of the few people involved and the expensive nature of this elaborate and sophisticated apparatus, it could be included without any great charge on the health services so as to avoid people having to submit full details in each individual application?
The position of the upper income group in relation to assistance given by health boards is such that it may be a difficult or delicate matter for them, but I should really prefer that the upper income group, when applying for special hardship contributions towards their operations, should apply and have the case judged. I should not like to have a kind of automatic granting of certain moneys to these people accepted as a general rule because it is understood that the 10 per cent of the population should pay virtually for the whole of their health services and that they can insure with the Voluntary Health Insurance Board. I should not like to depart from that principle. I do not think it should cause much difficulty. I have known a great many cases where this hardship clause has been used and it has not particularly embarrassed the people concerned to apply.
Is the Minister aware——
I am calling Question No. 10. The Deputy has already put two supplementary questions.
In view of the fact that the hospitals concerned are very interested in this matter and have asked for this to be raised——
There are other interesting questions. I am calling Question No. 10.