Farmers and their spouses living with conditions as serious as having a leg amputated are losing out on access to a medical card on the basis of the family farm having land or receiving farm payments, the Seanad has heard.

Senator Garret Ahern stated that he was aware of two cases in Co Tipperary where farmers’ wives had a leg amputated, but were denied a medical card as a result of the HSE’s mean test.

Falling short of the bar required in the means test is forcing one of the women to have to fork out the full cost associated with buying a new prosthesis, which the Seanad heard could be €20,000.

“I have two ladies in Tipperary who both have had their leg amputated. These women are both married to farmers,” said Senator Ahern.

“It is the single farm payment [that] appears to be putting them at a distinct disadvantage to attaining the medical card.

“One of these ladies now needs a new prosthesis, but she can’t afford it, so she now needs to get a medical card, but can’t get a medical card because her husband is a farmer.”

‘Genuine’ cases

Senator Ahern told his colleagues that the means test is excluding “genuine farmers” and called for a review of the income and asset limits applied during a means test.

Farmers and their families are penalised for making a modest living from farmland that will never be sold, he said.

“It just falls back on, particularly self-employed, but farmers really, who have an asset that costs a lot obviously, but they would never sell it,” he added.

“They are losing out regardless of how low their income is from that asset and regardless of the outgoings they have and they are missing out on medical cards for people who genuinely deserve it.”

Discretion

The HSE does have discretion to grant cards to individuals living with severe medical conditions who fall outside eligibility, as determined by the means test.

Senator Ahern called for this discretion to extend to amputees and those with life-altering illnesses.

“I would suggest that, particularly for these people, these ladies, where they live the remainder of their lives with a severe disability, that a medical card be automatically granted on medical grounds without the need for financial assessment.

“If we can’t support them, than what are we doing.”