Medical Cards

912. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health if her Department has undertaken equality or vulnerability impact assessment regarding the sharp reduction in discretionary medical card approvals for persons aged over 70 since 2020; and to provide any assessment conducted. [69355/25]

1022. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Health the reason prescriptions from private doctors are excluded under the medical card scheme; if she will consider extending coverage given the difficulty many face accessing their own GPs, leading them to seek private care; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [69792/25]

434. Deputy Malcolm Byrne asked the Minister for Health to provide details of dentists in the north Wexford area who accept medical cards; the average length of time waiting for treatment; the measures being put in place to address this challenge; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [68577/25]

463. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the current income thresholds used for assessing medical card eligibility for persons aged 70 years and over; when they were last reviewed; and the evidence base used in that review. [68708/25]

464. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health if her Department has conducted any assessment of whether the current income thresholds for over-70s are aligned with the cost of living for that age group; and if she will provide details of any such assessment. [68709/25]

466. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the number of over-70s whose medical card applications were discontinued due to incomplete documentation or verification requests in each of the years 2020 to 2025; and the number subsequently resubmitted. [68711/25]

467. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the average processing time for medical card applications submitted by persons aged 70 years and over in each of the years 2020 to 2025, including the longest recorded waiting time. [68712/25]

468. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the number of over-70s who reported financial hardship, delayed medical care, or difficulty accessing medication following the refusal of a medical or GP visit card since 2020; and if such data is recorded. [68713/25]

469. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health if her Department has carried out any review of the decision-making accuracy in over-70s medical card assessments since 2020; and the findings of that review, including identified error rates. [68714/25]

470. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the number of over-70s who had an existing medical card withdrawn following a means review in each year since 2020, broken down by year. [68715/25]

471. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the income bands of applicants aged 70 or over whose medical card or GP visit card applications were refused in each of the past four years, in order to identify the financial proximity to the threshold. [68716/25]

475. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the number of medical card and GP visit card holders aged 70 or over who incurred out-of-pocket medical expenses exceeding one thousand euro in the past year following a refusal or withdrawal of their card. [68720/25]

540. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Health if consideration will be given to allowing older persons to apply for a medical card through their local community welfare officer, in light of the significant difficulties many older persons experience in completing the required paperwork and navigating the current application process; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [68981/25…

268. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Health if she will establish a pathway to ensure that individuals diagnosed with congenital deafness may qualify for a medical card on the basis of their diagnosis rather than solely through means assessment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [68429/25]

521. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Health if a medical card can be urgently provided to a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [67327/25]

585. Deputy Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 896 of 20 September 2023, if she will outline all other medical procedures which medical card holders in CHO7 are not able to avail of at present; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [67701/25]

496. Deputy Louis O'Hara asked the Minister for Health the reason medical card patients are being charged for routine blood tests by their general practitioners despite being covered by the medical card scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [66849/25]

298. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Health the research carried out by her Department into the cost of further expansion of the medical card to all people over the age of 70; her views on the merits of this proposition; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [66439/25]

613. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health if she will confirm whether the recent €10 weekly increase in pension payments will be matched by an equivalent increase in medical card income thresholds for older persons, to ensure that pensioners do not lose eligibility as a result of the pension adjustment. [64880/25]

614. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the number of persons aged 70 or over projected to lose entitlement to a medical card or GP visit card in 2025 and 2026 due to pension increases not being reflected in updated medical card income thresholds. [64881/25]

615. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the year in which medical card income thresholds for persons aged 70 and over were last revised, and the rationale for not indexing thresholds to inflation, pension adjustments or cost of living changes. [64882/25]

616. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health if her Department conducted an equality or social impact assessment on the effect of raising pensions without adjusting medical card thresholds, particularly for older persons living alone. [64883/25]

617. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the number of older persons who received a discretionary medical card in each of the past five years due to being above the income threshold but facing high medical or living costs. [64884/25]

618. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health the number of applications from persons aged 70 or over rejected for a medical card or GP visit card in each of the past five years due to exceeding the income thresholds. [64885/25]

619. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Health if the HSE has issued any internal guidance to staff to ensure that older applicants with modest increases in pension income are not denied a medical card where there are evident medical needs or high living costs. [64886/25]