Republican News · Thursday 6 June 2002

TD calls for Medical Card extension

The new Programme for Government shuld extend the Medical Card scheme to people on the minimum wage or under 18 and in full-time education, says Dublin South-West Sinn Féin TD Seán Crowe.

He was speaking after new Central Statistics Office figures showed that more than a quarter of the population is without either a medical card or private health insurance cover.

The figures, based on a survey on health last year, also showed that almost one-fifth of those questioned had consulted their GP in the previous two weeks.

Almost 26% of those aged 18 and over were covered by a medical card while a further 46% said they had private health insurance; just 2% had both.

About 10% of employed people said that they were holders of medical cards. This compared with 47% of unemployed people and 54% of people not economically active. By contrast, almost 57% of the employed had health insurance.

Almost 20% of adults on outpatient waiting lists had been waiting for six months or more and 7% had been on a waiting list for over a year. Holders of medical cards waited for longer.

"The new Programme for Government should extend medical cover, remove the two-tier health system and establish a single waiting list that ensures access to treatment on the basis of need," said Crowe. "It is the right thing to do and makes sense for the people's future health."