Calls have been renewed in the Dáil for a reversal of the cuts in discretionary medical cards in the Health Service Executive 2014 service plan.

Sinn Féin health spokesman Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin said the Government should ensure the HSE “treats with due respect and compassion all applicants for medical cards, taking fully into account not only incomes but the burdens imposed by medical conditions, illnesses and disabilities”.

He said the current “widespread review and extensive culling of medical cards is causing huge distress and worry to thousands of people”. He added that it was only after a recent Fine Gael parliamentary party meeting that Minister for Health James Reilly “grudgingly recognised there is a problem”, called on colleagues to give him a list of “hard cases” and “spoke vaguely about some sort of third tier of services”.

He said Dr Reilly had since confirmed he would not be creating such a third tier and also said unemployment had fallen under the current Government but there were far more medical cards in circulation.

Indication of income

Mr Ó Caoláin said

the number of medical cards was an indication of income across the population and many of the jobs created were low-paid or part- time. “Real, decently paid jobs would indeed see more people earning over the income threshold for the medical card and thus fewer income-based cards in circulation.”

He said the number of full medical cards and GP visit cards was 97,120 in 2011 but this had fallen by nearly 19,000.

Minister of State for Health Alex White said there was no separate entity of discretionary medical card: "There is no distinction between medical cards in terms of eligibility for services." He said there was no such reference to discretionary cards in the HSE plan.