Harris will act with ‘sense of urgency’ on medical cards

Minister for Health Simon Harris has said that he will act with a sense of urgency to provide medical cards for children qualifying for the domiciliary care allowance.

Speaking during a Sinn Féin private member’s motion calling for a full medical card to be given immediately to every child qualifying for the allowance, Mr Harris said more than 11,000 children would receive the medical card early next year.

The Minister said he and the Government would proceed “with a sense of urgency”.

“We will put the money in place in the budget in October,” he said. “We will move forward with the legislation and the parents sitting in the gallery and parents of 11,000 other children will receive an automatic entitlement early in 2017.

“That is acting immediately. That’s acting urgently. We must all move together.”

The programme for government gave a commitment to extend the entitlement to a medical card in Budget 2017.

But Sinn Féin health spokeswoman Louise O’Reilly, who introduced the motion, said: “These children cannot wait until 2017. For these worn out parents, the medical card process is torture in slow motion, with constant form filling, endless reviews, rejection and appeals”.

The Dublin Fingal TD continued: “We can no longer tolerate this lottery; this lucky bag of uncertainty. These parents need our solidarity and support and we can offer that to them tonight.

“Many of the parents affected are concerned that this will be delayed, that logistically there may not be an outcome from the announcement until 2017. Sinn Féin produced legislation on this that we would be happy to share with the Minister. These children cannot wait until 2017.”

Parents of children who qualify for the domiciliary care allowance sat in the visitors’ gallery during the debate.

Ms O’Reilly said that while the House would rise for the summer recess they should remember that “for thousands of families across the State, there is no respite”.

“ They have sick children; children who need care, children who need access to services,” she said. “They battle every day for their children. And, sadly to say, many of their battles are with the State.”

Sinn Féin Cavan-Monaghan TD Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin said his party was the only one with a costed credible plan for health.

“We will increase investment in the health system and use €3.3billion of the money available to end the two-tier public/private system and deliver a new universal public health system for Ireland,” he said.

He added it would take time but a start had to be made which required political will and a fundamental move “away from the current two-tier and increasingly privatised system”.

Labour TD Alan Kelly said there was no reason not to pass the legislation now, to come into effect when the Budget is announced in October.