I do not apologise for standing up to speak about medical cards because I do not think enough of us can discuss it. Today, Tuesday, nothing has changed. I welcome the Sinn Féin motion tabled in the Dáil this evening on discretionary medical cards. I welcome the news that the Joint Committee on Health will visit the medical card centre on Thursday next. Following these two events, may we please have a statement or an action plan from the Minister for Health, Deputy James Reilly, or the Minister of State, Deputy Alex White, or both, with some solutions for these poor unfortunate children? I empathise with those of all age groups who have had their medical cards taken from them. State demands to involve the finances of parents or guardians should cease forthwith, as recommended by the United Nations report on children. We had news today of a little girl of seven years of age with leukaemia whose parents are trying to have her medical card restored, but the HSE official wanted to speak to the child to verify her details. What are we coming to? Last Thursday night I mentioned a little boy of nine years of age who has been gravely ill and disabled since birth. Both his parents manage to care for him full-time but they also work. Their medical card has been removed. The child needs to be tube-fed and suctioned and has epileptic fits. I ask Ministers to cease discussing free universal health care and free health care for those under six. Let us first look after the people who are desperate in society and in all our communities. All Members are hearing from the people. We must help these people and we must come up with solutions. I ask the Leader to invite the Minister for Health to come to the House or make a statement, because we simply cannot continue in this vein.

I was going to speak about medical cards also.

Since I was elected to the Seanad the most controversial issue - it keeps coming up time and again - is medical cards. While I appreciate that almost half the population of Ireland have medical cards there are still many people who have had their discretionary cards removed and I, for one, do not agree with that.

I read in the newspaper the other day that a parent got a letter asking whether her child with Down's syndrome still had Down's syndrome. The person who wrote that letter should be sacked from her job because she knows nothing about health issues if she thinks that Down's syndrome will go away or that it is not a lifelong illness.

There needs to be accountability.

The Minister can address that issue.

Senator Marie Moloney to continue, without interruption.

Sorry, I have just been interrupted. I am asking for the Minister to come here and for a long debate in the House. It is a long time since we had a debate on medical cards. I call on the Minister for Health to come to the House. Like Senator Mary Ann O'Brien said, we need an action plan to address discretionary medical cards. We are always being told that it is not linked to health issues, complications or illnesses. That is crazy stuff; of course it is. That is why people want the medical card and it is time that we woke up and saw it.

This morning I was delighted to be able to welcome funding for a sewerage scheme in my parish and for water services and a waste treatment plant. We are delighted to be able to welcome these developments but perhaps sometimes we should weigh up which is more important to the people. Is it a sewerage scheme, a road, roadworks, a bypass or looking after our sick children? That is for us to decide.

It is my pleasure, formally and on behalf of myself and my colleagues, to welcome the appointment of the Minister, Deputy Frances Fitzgerald, to the position of Minister for Justice and Equality. Many Members will remember that some weeks ago I commented on the effort she put into getting the Russian baby for Ms Lisa Fennessy against all the odds. I said that having achieved that not only would her name be carved in stone but she would be a potential future leader of Fine Gael. I am confident that she will do an outstanding job in the Department of Justice and Equality. I have known her for many years. She really cut her teeth in this House as Leader of the Opposition and I know she will deliver the goods.

On another note, it is my pleasure to congratulate the office manager of the Leader, Senator Maurice Cummins, Ms Orla Murray on her engagement to Senator John Crown.

That is a personal issue. We do not discuss such issues in the Chamber.

I would like not to be interrupted on the matter, please.

It is a personal issue.

I am formally offering congratulations. I read in the newspaper at the weekend-----

It is a personal issue.

-----that Senator John Crown and Ms Orla Murray-----

This is Parliament.

I would like to say something about Ms Orla Murray. During my intense sickness over the last year-----

The Senator is completely out of order.

Every time I met her she had compassion for me in my illness.

I wish to raise a serious matter. When I am out canvassing for Fianna Fáil morning, noon and night I am continuously shocked at this coalition Government's cuts to discretionary medical cards. According to recent figures released to the Fianna Fáil spokesperson on health in the Dáil, Deputy Billy Kelleher, the number of people with a discretionary medical card has fallen to below 50,000. All applicants for discretionary medical cards deserve to be treated with due respect and compassion. It is not only a matter of their income which should be taken into account but the sudden onslaught of a serious illness for them or their families. A person diagnosed with a serious illness or disability has enough to worry about without being tortured by travel and hospital expenses. There is a contradiction in the Government giving universal free GP care to children under six years. The way this Government has treated older people in our society is beyond belief. They are the people who need most medical care. When each of us get older we need more prescriptions but the Minister for Health, Deputy James Reilly, has increased the prescription charge five times. He said he would get rid of the 50 cent charge initially but, on the contrary, he has increased it five times. As I said in the House two weeks ago-----

The Senator is way over time.

Please bear with me. It is important to say this in the House. The people on the Government side have jumped on the bandwagon by saying that their Government is cutting medical cards.

For the past three years, my colleague Senator Marc MacSharry has on numerous occasions raised the plight of those affected by the reduction in medical card provision.

As have Members on the Government side.