Medical card is taken from 700 Galway pensioners

More than 700 people aged over 70 in Galway lost their medical cards in the space of a year – one of the highest losses of any county outside the capital.

The figures released by the Government in reply to a parliamentary question show 16,356 medical cards have been lost to the over 70s between April 2014 and April 2015. That includes 741 medical cards culled in Galway alone.

The Fianna Fáil Spokesperson on Disability, Mental Health and Special Needs, Colm Keaveney said the cuts were implemented despite a steady increase in the population of older people.

“This is a huge level of cuts in the space of just a year, following on from two years of sustained cuts to the entitlement. The Government announced a cull of medical cards for the over 70s in 2013 – passing two bills that changed the eligibility criteria, effectively cutting 55,000 medical cards from older people,” the Tuam TD stated.

“These latest figures show this agenda is in full swing, and it’s having a real impact on people’s lives in every single community in the country. It’s an appalling betrayal of pensioners who have spent decades paying their taxes, raising their families and contributing to the country in every way possible.”

The cull of medical cards in twelve months is the third year in a row there has been a dramatic decline in numbers.

In addition to the medical cards being removed, more than a million home help hours have been taken away, prescription charges have been increased five-fold, the telephone allowance has been abolished and the bereavement grant has been scrapped, he pointed out.

“Over the last number of years I have been presented by ever growing numbers of elderly people attending my constituency clinics who have been reduced to a state of constant anxiety by the cuts imposed on them and by the uncertainty of their future welfare,” he exclaimed.

The Department of Health pointed out that it was the last government which took away the universal entitlement to the medical card for the over-70s in 2008.

A spokesperson said free GP care is currently being rolled out for everyone aged 70, which will benefit 36,000 older people who currently have to pay for their doctor.