847. Deputy James Bannon asked the Minister for Health if he will review the position regarding the centralising and processing of all medical cards; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38312/15]

The Health Service Executive (HSE) decided to move the processing of medical cards from local services i.e. Local Health Offices into a single centralised national service at the Primary Care Reimbursement Service Office (PCRS) from July 2011. The rationale for this decision was to ensure medical card applications are assessed in a single uniform and consistent manner, regardless of their geographic location and to make sure the same rule set is applied to every applicant, including the application of discretion.

I have asked the HSE to respond directly to the Deputy on this issue.