The Minister for Health has said he is committed to providing medical cards to over 10,000 very sick children in Ireland.

In a statement this evening Simon Harris said he was very confident that he would be able to get cross-party support for this Bill when it is brought to the Oireachtas.

The bill would automatically provide medical cards for very sick children who are in receipt of Domiciliary Care Allowance.

The Minister said; “Families all around the country are caring for about 30,000 very sick children. They currently receive Domiciliary Care Allowance but one-in-three do not get a medical card. I am extending this to include 10,000 more children in receipt of the DCA who will be provided with a medical card”

“From then on all of these children will be provided with a medical card without having to go through means testing, once they are in receipt of the Domiciliary Care Allowance.”

“I hope that not having to worry about applying for a medical card will help these families in some small way.”