Enda Kenny criticised as two seriously-ill children denied medical cards

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has been accused of reneging on a promise to bring commonsense back to the awarding of discretionary medical cards.

Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin made the accusation as he said a nine-year-old girl with a rare cancer and an 18-month-old boy, with Down syndrome and a significant cardiac problem, had been denied help. He contrasted the cases with plans to give free GP care to all children under six, regardless of health issues.

Mr Martin said immense strain was being put on families, both emotionally and financially, by arbitrary decisions of the HSE.

“Many people cannot comprehend how two young people in this position can still be denied full medical cards, despite all the talk of flexibility and applicability of local inputs. This is happening while perfectly healthy children aged under six are to receive free GP care towards the end of the year,” said Mr Martin.

The Taoiseach said that some families were refused a card due to income levels, but that the system was now more flexible.

“There has been an increase from approximately 52,000 discretionary cards issued in the middle of last year to over 77,000 at the end of December 2014. There is a far greater degree of common sense and sensitivity applied here,” he said.

“Nobody wants a case of a sick child not having access to medical facilities and treatment. As has been indicated, until one gets to a universal health scheme, there will always be people over the limit for a medical card application. This leads to the question of discretion for circumstances that arise.”

The row came as Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams said the Government was not taking the trolley crisis seriously enough, with more than 400 patients unable to get a bed.

He said: “It is clear the Government is not providing adequate resources.”

Mr Kenny said the matter was not down to money and that the Government was looking at ways to solve the problem.

“If it was a question of money, it would have been fixed years ago. It is an issue that arises on a regular basis and it is a case of being able to manage it effectively in the interests of the patients,” said Mr Kenny.

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