Medical card means test is unjust

THE Government proposes to base the new means test for the over-70s medical card on gross income.

Am I alone in my conviction that this is totally unjust, even illegal, an invasion of a basic human rights in fact? I doubt very much if this proposal would survive a challenge in any decent law court, never mind the European Court of Human Rights.

Traditionally, essential expenses (especially income tax, which is government income) have been deducted from gross salary to arrive at the actual income on which to base means tests.