I received confirmation from the Minister for Health, Simon Harris, that very sick children in receipt of Domiciliary Care Allowance are going to have an automatic entitlement to a medical card.

“Minister for Health, Simon Harris, reaffirmed his commitment to automatically provide medical cards for very sick children who are in receipt of Domiciliary Care Allowance (DCA).

“I know from talking to local families that this will come as a huge relief to Cork families with very sick children who are in receipt of Domiciliary Care Allowance. Once they are in receipt of this Allowance, these children will be provided with a medical card without having to go through means testing.

“Currently one in three children in receipt of the Allowance do not get a medical card, so this new measure will mean that that medical cards will be provided to over 10,000 very sick children across the country who currently do not have them.

“Minister Harris is going to bring legislation through the Oireachtas on this matter and hopes the changes can come into effect in the not too distant future.

“Through our position in Government, Fine Gael is working hard to ensure that the fruits of our recovering economy are used to help those who need it most. These very sick children are just one example, and we want to ensure that their families can avoid any additional stress and worry with this automatic entitlement to a medical card.”