Vol. 394 No. 8
42 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Minister for Health if he approves of a health board refusing to pay arrears to a recipient of the disabled person's maintenance allowance where it transpired that his means had been incorrectly assessed by the health board in earlier years and a lower amount paid in allowance than that to which he was entitled.
The assessment of means for the purposes of determining eligibility for disabled persons maintenance allowance in any individual case is a matter for the health board concerned.
If the Deputy will let me have details of any specific complaint in regard to means assessment I will have it investigated.
43 Mr. Harte asked the Minister for Health if he will reduce the age limit from 25 years to 18 years for dependent children applying for medical cards who are living at home, so that children over 18 can obtain a medical card in their own right.
Under the Health Services (No. 3) Regulations, 1983, persons under 25 who are dependents of a person who is not a medical card holder do not themselves qualify for a medical card unless the chief executive officer of their relevant health board decides that they should have one for reasons of hardship. These regulations do not apply to persons who are entitled to a medical card under EC regulations or who are in receipt of a disabled persons maintenance allowance.
Given the demands on the resources which are available for health care it is not proposed at this stage to change the regulations.
