FF REACTION:OVER 30 Fianna Fáil TDs and Senators were critical of the controversial Budget decision to withdraw the universal availability of medical cards for over-70s at a specially-convened parliamentary party meeting yesterday.
The packed meeting was attended by Minister for Health Mary Harney, who heard a succession of TDs criticising the decision as well as what was described as a damaging information vacuum - backbench deputies were informed of the details 24 hours after it was announced.
Several deputies also argued the income thresholds were far too low, and most talked about their offices being inundated with calls.
However, Tánaiste Mary Coughlan told the meeting that the decision could not be reversed. According to parliamentarians who attended, she also said that any Fianna Fáil TD who criticised the measure during the Taoiseach's absence abroad (he was in Brussels this week and begins a week-long visit to China this weekend) would be showing "disrespect" to him.
At the end of the meeting, Ms Coughlan also issued what amounted to an ultimatum to her Fianna Fáil colleagues, saying anybody who publicly uttered that the Government would or should reconsider the matter would be answerable to the Taoiseach.
Speaking after the meeting, Government chief whip Pat Carey said Ms Harney had given an undertaking to give clarity on the threshold and also to make precise information available in the coming days. He said the decision would not be reversed or varied.
The backbenchers who were most critical included Noel O'Flynn, Noel Treacy, John Brown and Pat "the Cope" Gallagher.
Mr O'Flynn later said the message was communicated badly. "There were only two paragraphs talking about the removal of medical cards from over-70s. We had no other information. We only discovered about it at four o'clock the following afternoon. It left us in a vacuum. It has caused huge upset to my constituents."
However, some Fianna Fáil deputies argued that the decision needed to be revisited.
Longford TD Peter Kelly was one. "I will be lobbying the Government to raise the threshold for income. My position is that unless you are millionaire you should be entitled to a medical card."
Wexford TD Seán Conick said: "People are very upset. The difficulty is that a majority believe they are losing the medical card. The information deficit is the thing. People have been worried. More information and clarity would allay a lot of the concern."
Chris Andrews was also critical of the information vacuum. "There was a need to communicate the message. We did not do that."
There were indications that last night's announcement clarifying thresholds, allied to an information campaign, may not be enough to allay the concerns of backbench TDs and senators.
A number said last night that some at least would call for some kind of compromise, especially if they received negative feedback at weekend constituency clinics.