Frances Fitzgerald
Ceist:158 Ms Fitzgerald asked the Minister for Health and Children the rules regarding eligibility for medical cards. [16610/98]
Written Answers. - Medical Cards.
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 by the chief executive officers to assist in the determination of a person's eligibility and are revised annually in line with the consumer price index. It should be noted that these guidelines are higher for persons aged 66 to 79 and higher again for those aged 80 and over. However, the guidelines are not statutorily binding and even though a person's income exceeds the guidelines, a medical card may still be awarded if the chief executive officer considers that his/her medical needs or other circumstances would justify this. Medical cards may also be awarded to individual family members on this basis. The attached table sets out the income guidelines used by the health boards in the assessment of applications for medical cards.
As part of Budget 1996, the then Government announced that "persons who have been unemployed for at least one year shall retain their medical cards after entering employment.":
Persons on the live register for at least one year, who take up paid insurable employment, were deemed to meet the criteria for retaining their medical cards for three years. The provision also covers participants on approved schemes applicable to the long-term unemployed, including back to work allowance (BTWA), community employment, Jobstart, Job Initiative, Partnership and Community Group Initiative and development courses such as Workplace and the vocational training opportunities scheme (VTOS). The purpose of the budget provision was to remove disincentives to labour force participation by long-term unemployed persons.
In addition to this, the Minister for Finance announced in December 1997 a budget tax initiative to help the long-term unemployed. Essentially the initiative, known as Job Assist, offers tax incentives to employers to employ persons, who are long-term unemployed, and to the latter to take up qualifying employment. Participants are entitled to retain their medical cards for three years after entering a qualifying employment.
Table of Income Guidelines
The income guidelines for 1998 are as follows: (Gross income less PRSI deductions)
|
per week |
|
|
£ |
|
|
Single person living alone (under 66) |
89.00 |
|
Single person living alone (66-79) |
97.00 |
|
Single person living alone (80 or over) |
101.50 |
|
Single person living with family (under 66) |
79,00 |
|
Single person living with family (66-79) |
84.00 |
|
Single person living with family (80 or over) |
87.00 |
|
Married couple (under 66) |
129.00 |
|
Married couple (66-79) |
144.00 |
|
Married couple (80 or over) |
151.50 |
|
Allowance for each child under 16 |
15.50 |
|
Allowance for other dependants |
17.00 |
|
Allowance for house expenses: |
|
|
(e.g. rent, mortgage) — in excess of |
15.00 |
|
Allowance for cost of travelling to work: |
|
|
Cost allowed per week over |
14.00 |