Legal authority to remove cards now in question

LABOUR leader Eamon Gilmore has questioned whether the Government is legally entitled to remove the medical card from 20,000 pensioners.

While the revisions announced on Tuesday will allow 95% of the over-70s to retain their cards, the remaining 5% will lose them at the end of December, a move that will affect 20,000 existing card holders.

But speaking in the Dáil yesterday, Mr Gilmore questioned the Government’s legal authority to do this.