In recent weeks, access to general practitioners, GPs, and medical cards has been a burning issue. Many will have been moved by the testimony of the Jack and Jill Children's Foundation to the health committee in respect of children who are very ill, many with life-limiting conditions. The majority of people would agree that medical cards should be available to children irrespective of age.

I am sorry, but where are we going? On what legislation is this?

The health (general practitioner medical service) Bill.

I ask the Leader of the Opposition to wait a second. Everyone is shouting.

It relates to forthcoming legislation. Many would agree that children with disabilities or special needs should be the first cohort to get access to medical cards irrespective of age. When will the health (general practitioner medical service) Bill, which I understand will provide GP services only to those aged under five years, be forthcoming and will it take into consideration my comments? The first phase should be for children who really need it. I am referring to cochlear implants, children with the Jack and Jill Children's Foundation and children across the board whose medical cards have been removed and of whom we have had experience in recent weeks. This situation has highlighted sad and difficult cases and parents and families should not need to go through it.

The legislation is expected this session.

This session.

This session. As Deputy Martin rightly pointed out and as other Deputies have raised about particular cases that have come into the national media, anybody would look at these cases and say that of course the situations of those children should be helped. I expect they will be. When the move was made to centralise all of the medical card applications, it brought the same assessment right across the board. It is how one then applies the circumstances from a discretionary point of view that matters. Clearly, there has been a need to be able to communicate what is involved in this from both sides. The Deputy knows this himself. Children in need of attention or particular facilities should be able to get them.

On the move towards universal health insurance, the first 240,000 under five year olds will have free GP care. Numbers of those children already have full medical cards because of their particular medical circumstances. It is a matter that the Deputy can validly raise on the Bill when it comes before the House.