Mr ‘Fix-it’ needs to act

ENDA Kenny told us he would ‘fix’ the discretionary medical card debacle. Nothing could be further from the truth. And nothing exemplifies the utter confusion in which those at the centre of this row find themselves than our story today of Mayo pensioner Máire.

In effect, all that has actually happened is that the ‘pause’ button has been pressed on the review. Those who have already lost their cards will not get them back and there is no long-term guarantee that those who still have them will retain them.

In the meantime, those like Máire who are caught in the middle of this callous campaign of bureaucratic terror find themselves thrown into even greater confusion. Máire clearly needs ongoing medical care. Yet, because her income is marginally over the arbitrarily applied ceiling and because the review is based on income and not on medical needs, there is still no guarantee that she will get it.

This debacle has already cost scores of Fine Gael and Labour councillors their seats, and Eamon Gilmore the leadership of his party. It has thrown the Coalition into disarray. How much more havoc must be wreaked before Mr Kenny honours his word and genuinely does ‘fix it’?