asked the Minister for Health whether mature students attending university are entitled to obtain medical cards to cover the period during their attendance as students.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - University Students Medical Cards.
24.
Under the law, adult persons who are unable without undue hardship to arrange general practitioner medical and surgical services for themselves and their dependants are entitled to medical cards. In this context, an adult person means a person who is 16 years of age or older. Students who are 16 years of age or older and who have no means of their own are, therefore, entitled to medical cards. Mature students who may have income of their own are treated, for purposes of eligibility for medical cards, in the same way as other members of the population: their entitlement depends on their own specific circumstances, including size of income, number of dependants and the extent of certain outgoings.
Is the Minister saying that university students are not as of right entitled to medical cards because they are students and that university students who could be shown to have an income would have their medical cards removed from them?
Once a student reaches 16 years or older he or she is regarded as adult and his or her means are assessed on their own basis as the means which the students would have. Therefore, mature students who have an income would be disqualified.
Is the Minister saying then that in the same way that mature students are deemed to be ineligible, other students might not be considered eligible if it was found that they had income of their own in their own right?
I have stated for the Deputy very clearly what the law is. The law as it applies would apply equally to anyone in the same circumstances.
Do I understand the Minister correctly? Will he agree with me if I say that the present law is that the son or daughter of the richest man or woman in Ireland in third level education would have a medical card provided he or she had no legal income of his or her own, whereas a married man or woman with children and an income will be refused a medical card if such a person is doing a third level education course and has an income which is 6p or £2 over the guideline?
The income is a factor in determining the eligibility and once over 16 each individual is considered an adult and that person's income has to be taken into consideration.
Ceist a 25.