<P> Medical cards were introduced by Part III of the Health Act 1953 , passed by the then Fianna Fáil government after the failure of the previous inter-party government 's somewhat more ambitious Mother and Child Scheme . It was described as a `` white card replacing the red ticket '' , the latter being a proof of pauperism required under the Irish poor laws for access to the public dispensary . The medical card scheme was administered by county councils until the newly created Health Boards took over in 1970 ; these in turn were replaced by the HSE in 2005 . </P>
<P> Medical cards were introduced by Part III of the Health Act 1953 , passed by the then Fianna Fáil government after the failure of the previous inter-party government 's somewhat more ambitious Mother and Child Scheme . It was described as a `` white card replacing the red ticket '' , the latter being a proof of pauperism required under the Irish poor laws for access to the public dispensary . The medical card scheme was administered by county councils until the newly created Health Boards took over in 1970 ; these in turn were replaced by the HSE in 2005 . </P>
when was the medical card introduced in ireland
when was the medical card introduced in ireland
1953
1953