Medical card apology ‘not good enough unless they compensate us

Jackie Connolly said she is delighted that her daughter, Katie, 6, will get her medical card back, but said the Government’s apology for the stress her and other families have suffered "is not good enough unless they compensate parents".

She estimates the annual medical bill for her daughter who has Down Syndrome and suffers from a range of medical conditions including juvenile arthritis, asthma, and a heart condition, runs to more than €7,000.

The medical card which Katie had since birth but was removed unexpectedly last November, helped towards some, but not all of these costs.