The number of people with medical cards has increased this month for the first time since Mary Harney became Minister for Health last autumn.
Latest figures from the Primary Care Reimbursement Service, formerly the General Medical Services Payments Board, show close to 2,000 extra people gained medical card eligibility over the past month.
However, given that up to a month ago more than 8,000 people had lost their entitlement to medical cards since Ms Harney became Minister for Health, the increased number of cards given out over the past four weeks will just serve to make up for some of those taken away.
Ms Harney promised, when she was appointed, to increase medical card eligibility and she announced on Estimates Day last November that an extra 30,000 medical cards and 200,000 doctor-only cards would be given out to low income families this year.
None of these cards have been handed out to date, however. The new doctor-only cards required a change in legislation, which went through the Oireachtas just over a week ago. A Department of Health spokesman said yesterday people could now start applying for the new cards, which will be handed out from next month.
But this plan may be held up as several GPs with concerns about other grievances want the department to sort them out before they agree to see patients with doctor-only cards for free.
Meanwhile the latest medical card figures show most of the 1,960 extra people who became eligible for medical cards over the last month live in the eastern region. In this region 933 extra people gained eligibility.
A further 527 extra people in the northwest became eligible as did 351 people in the south, 270 in the west and 79 in the mid-west.
Overall numbers with medical card eligibility dropped in three regions. Numbers were down 93 in the northeast, down 61 in the southeast and down 46 in the midlands.