Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 7 July 2026
779. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Health to provide an update on the work her Department is undertaking to increase the income threshold for medical card eligibility for persons under 70 years-of-age; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [51192/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraMedical Card provision is primarily based on financial assessment. In accordance with the Health Act 1970 (as amended), eligibility for a medical card is determined by the HSE, which assesses each application on a qualifying financial threshold. This is the amount of money that an individual can earn a week and still qualify for a card. It is specific to the individual’s own financial circumstances.
Persons aged 69 and under are assessed under the general means tested medical card thresholds which are based on an applicant’s household income after tax and the deduction of PRSI and the Universal Social Charge. Certain expenses are also taken into account. Detailed guidelines are available at: [Assessment for a medical card - HSE.ie] (www2.hse.ie/services/schemes-allowances/medical-cards/applying/assessment/) .
Persons aged 70 or older are assessed under medical card income thresholds which are based on gross income. However, it should be noted that those aged over 70 can also be assessed under the general means tested scheme where there are particularly high medical costs. Details are available at: [Medical card for over 70s]. (www2.hse.ie/services/schemes-allowances/medical-cards/other-types-of-medical-card/over-70s/)
Every effort is made by the HSE, within the framework of the legislation, to support applicants in applying for a medical card and, in particular, to take full account of the difficult circumstances in the case of applicants who may be in excess of the income guidelines. In such circumstances, the HSE may exercise discretion and grant a medical card, for example:
• Discretionary medical cards issued to patients with significant medical expenses but who do not satisfy the means test.
• Emergency medical cards are issued to patients that are terminally ill, or are seriously ill, and in urgent need of medical care that they cannot afford.
In addition, where a person's sole household income is derived from a social protection payment, he/she will be awarded a medical card.
Over 1.56 million people now hold a Medical Card and over 800 thousand hold a GP Visit Card. This means that over 2.3m have access to free GP care.
Finally, there is a programme of work underway in my Department, as part of Sláintecare 2025+, which is reviewing the existing eligibility framework. The purpose of this review is to clearly assess what is working well and to inform future policy proposals on the eligibility framework, based on robust evidence, as we progress implementation of Sláintecare.
