Cabinet freezes medical card reviews

The Government has frozen the review of discretionary medical cards and said that, under a new policy, eligibility for all cards will take account of medical conditions.

The climbdown comes a year after concerns were first highlighted with Enda Kenny in the Dáil about vulnerable patients, including sick children, having their cards cancelled. At one stage, up to 1,000 cards were being cancelled a month.

Health support groups last night welcomed the suspension of reviews of discretionary medical cards. However, questions remain on whether people who had such cards cancelled before can now get them back.