The boy who spearheaded the campaign that derailed the Government’s local election campaign and forced it into an embarrassing U-turn has had his medical card restored.

It would be a mistake to dismiss the massive swell in support for Independents as a simple protest vote; it is at the heart of a breakdown of trust in mainstream party politics, writes Ray Kinsella.

An eight-year-old boy with Down Syndrome who lost his medical card last year has pleaded directly to the health minister to give it back during a face to face encounter.