Anger as Dáil votes to abolish medical card right for over-70s

THE Dáil voted to sweep away the right to medical cards for over-70s last night as the Government forced the controversial measure through against bitter opposition.

A day of angry political exchanges ended with ministers guillotining debate on the emotive issue, which drew 15,000 outraged protestors onto the streets in October.

Fine Gael and Labour joined forces to launch trench warfare against the Government parties as they protested that the early curtailing of debate on the matter was “disgraceful”.

Fine Gael deputy leader Richard Bruton said ministers should be ashamed.

“It is simply unacceptable that major policy changes of this nature are rammed through on a guillotine. If people had their say, the guillotine would be applied to the necks of the 15 ministers who sat around the Cabinet table and approved this proposal,” he said.

Labour health spokeswoman Jan O’Sullivan picked up the theme, adding: “Several hundred thousand pensioners would probably line up to pull the lever on that guillotine.”

Health Minister Mary Harney said the Attorney General had assured the Cabinet that the opposition claims that aspects of the legislation were unconstitutional were not valid.

Ms Harney announced she was introducing a three-year delay in the removal of a card in cases where an elderly person’s circumstances should change on the death of a spouse after concerns were raised that widows and widowers could lose out suddenly.

Fine Gael health spokesman James Reilly said the over-70s had been “cheated” as they were led to believe they were being granted a medical card for life.

Wicklow TD Joe Behan, who quit Fianna Fáil in disgust at the original budget move to means-test the card for over-70s, called on his ex-colleagues to join him in the opposition lobby.

He attacked Ms Harney’s move to propose a supplementary estimate of an extra €70m for possible payments to consultants, while insisting she could not find €16m to ensure universal access to healthcare for the over-70s.

“Fianna Fáil is a great political party, a party of all the people. I beg the FF members to reconsider this principle before the final vote is taken,” he urged.

Mr Behan said something was wrong when a person who stands by a principle on which they stood for election was forced to leave their party.

Independent TD Finian McGrath, who withdrew support for the Government over the medical card row, said ministers had failed their duty to protect senior citizens.