Doctors' group denies blocking medical card plan

The row over doctor-only medical cards continued tonight as the Irish Medical Organisation denied it was standing in the way of the scheme’s introduction.

Earlier the Tánaiste Mary Harney said she was at a loss to understand why the IMO was seeking to re-negotiate the agreement reached over the plan in June.

Talks at the Labour Relations Commission between the IMO and the Health Service Executive Employers Agency reached a deadlock yesterday, further delaying the introduction of the cards which were first announced last November.

A sticking point is whether patients with doctor-only cards, which provide free access to GP visits, but not to medicines, will receive a full medical card when they reach 70.

The Health Minister said she was disappointed with the breakdown in talks between the two parties.

This evening Dr Martin Daly, chairman of the IMO’s GP committee said: “We are slightly mystified at her comment suggesting that we are seeking to re-negotiate the agreement.

“The IMO did not refer any of the issues to the Labour Relations Commission, we did not seek a meeting with the LRC, we did not seek clarification on any issue in the agreement – these were all sought by the Tanaiste’s officials from the HSE Employers’ Agency.

Dr Daly said the organisation had not attempted to re-negotiate the deal in any way.

“We have no desire, we never had any desire to unravel that agreement, all we are seeking is that the agreement that was reached in good faith and balloted on by our members be implemented in full.”

The IMO welcomed the Health Minister’s assurances today that holders of the doctor visit-only cards would still qualify for full free healthcare when they turned 70.

But Dr Daly said: “It is unfortunate that through ten hours of negotiations at the LRC yesterday that no such reassurance was forthcoming from her officials.

“The IMO’s position is that we wish to see the agreement which was concluded on June 20, 2005 and balloted on and accepted by GP members fully implemented.

“We will not be party to management’s attempts to reduce the entitlement of all persons over 70 to a full medical card,” he warned.

The IMO said it remained committed to the provision of the GP-only card at the earliest possible date and that the organisation was available to talk to the Tanaiste’s office.

Earlier the Health Minister insisted that the new GP-only medical cards would not leave some over-70s without full entitlements to free health care.

Ms Harney said delays to the introduction of the cards were hitting low income families who stood to benefit from the plan.

She said she had asked officials in the Department of Health to look at alternative ways to implement the programme’s objectives as a matter of urgency.