The HSE is still trying to fix a technical issue that has led to a stoppage in the processing of medical cards.

Its centralised unit in Dublin has not been able to issue cards since last Wednesday because of a glitch in its system.

All applications are being monitored to identify priority cases for when it is back up and running, but it is not yet clear when that will be.

Independent TD Michael Healy-Rae says it will take some time for the system to get up-to-date once it is fixed.

He said: “This is going to have a knock-on affect, because now there is going to be a backlog, and it always happens that people are requested to give further information.

“Now that request for further information won’t issue, it’ll be a week later and we’re not even sure the system is going to be up-and-running today. It’s quite simply not good enough.”