FF to force Down’s medical cards talk

Government TDs will come under further pressure over the removal of medical cards from children with Down’s Syndrome or serious illnesses when Fianna Fáil forces a debate on the issue in the Dáil after it returns from the Christmas break.

The party is to table a Private Members Bill which would ensure that children with chronic conditions, multiple illnesses or Down’s Syndrome would have the right to a medical card to ensure they have access to all the treatment and services they need.

All children up to the age of six will be entitled to free GP care from 2014, under a measure announced by the coalition in October’s budget.

However, the Fianna Fáil leader, Micheál Martin, said he does not believe resources are being used fairly. “There is something just not right when a very healthy child will get a free medical card, but children of six years of age or seven years of age who have chronic conditions like Down’s Syndrome or with complications don’t get a card,” he said.

The Irish Examiner has highlighted a number of cases of children with Down’s Syndrome who have lost their discretionary medical cards, including Katie Connolly, 6, in Douglas, Cork, and Ronan Woodhouse, 8, in Limerick.

Mr Martin said he was “frustrated” in recent months with “the denial after denial after denial” when he raised the issue with Taoiseach Enda Kenny in the Dáil.

More than 1,000 people a month lost their discretionary medical cards in the first eight months of 2013, with the number on circulation dropping from 63,126 to 5,884.

The HSE was asked by the Dáil’s Public Accounts Committee in October to provide information on how many children with Down’s Syndrome had lost their cards, but has still not provided the committee with the information requested.

Mr Kenny has consistently denied there has been a change of policy, saying there has never been an automatic entitlement to medical cards based on medical needs.

However, Mr Martin said: “If the Government is now determined to give everyone under five a medical card, then it must give every child above that, who has a severe condition, a medical card as well. Where there is clear medical needs and special needs, the medical card should be provided.

“When I canvass views of people on that, across the board, everyone agrees with that, that those in medical need require a card. That is something we will be pushing in the new year.”

Mr Martin said that his party’s highlighting of the issue has had an impact — particularly in the HSE’s Service Plan for 2014, which reversed a budgetary decision to save €113m through “medical card probity”.

“A bogus figure was put into the budget, saying they are going to take out €113 million on medical cards,” said Mr Martin. “They have now brought it down to about €25m. I think that is a direct result of the pressure from us.”

In an interview with the Irish Examiner, the Fianna Fáil leader said he is satisfied with the overall impact his party is having in opposition: “Since the General Election, we have published 64 pieces of legislation, we have published this year 11 policy documents from early childhood education right through to political reform to a new town centre policy,” he said.