Sir, - The Government plan to provide free medical services for all citizens over 70, irrespective of income, is surely a perversion of the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness. The 30,000 members of this age group who do not already have medical cards are some of the wealthiest citizens of this State - retired judges, medical consultants, government ministers and industrialists. Their wealth in itself should not be a bar to medical services provided by the State, were it not that a citizen on the national minimum wage will not qualify for the same services. In fact, many of the least prosperous employees will instead be paying taxes to support the implementation of this most unfair - and, I would say, immoral - policy.
The facts are as follows: a citizen who has an income of £93 weekly will not qualify for a medical card, but Garret FitzGerald, retired Taoiseach will. A family of two adults and two children with an income of £183 will not qualify for a medical card, but Charles J. Haughey, retired Taoiseach, will. A couple in which the male partner has just retired from 40 years' labouring in the local county council with a pension of £150 will not qualify for a medical card, but Mr Liam Cosgrave, retired Taoiseach, will.
This policy is an ill-thought-out, nakedly political vote-getter for the party that proposed it. No party will oppose it as the old dictum in politics is not to oppose giving anyone anything for nothing. This is good politics but stinking morality. As a practising general practitioner I will resent this policy; not because of income loss - as an empowered medical profession can look after itself - but because I will continue to have to write begging letters to the community welfare officer for medical cards for hard-pressed, deserving, ill citizens, knowing the wealthy have been looked after yet again by the politicians. Yours, etc.,
Dr Martin K. Daly, MRCGP, Ballygar, Co Galway.