Labour’s Alan Kelly says the running of the medical card system is ‘totally unacceptable’.
Alan Kelly was responding to reports that a mother of a 4-year-old boy with Down Syndrome was recently asked to prove that her son still had the chromosomal abnormality and another family who say a HSE staff member called their house and asked to speak to their then 6-year-old who was suffering from leukaemia.
There is speculation that Health Minister James Reilly will address the issue of cutbacks to medial cards in the Dáil this evening.
Public Transport Minister Alan Kelly was asked if he could stand over how the cards are being withdrawn from those in need.
“I can’t, it’s totally unacceptable and it can’t continue to happen” he said.
“I feel for both of those families, I’ve read their stories – it is completely unacceptable and we need to ensure that the system that is in place – obviously it goes back a while, it is a means test system and there is a discretionary element at the end of that – we need to ensure that it is fair, that it is operated consistently” he said.
“And also that those who are in hardship, who do have specific issues like those young kids – that they do get their medical cards” he added.