In Ireland, certain long-term illnesses entitle you to free medicine or appliances for those illnesses. Diabetes is one of those illnesses, so all of my diabetes supplies (including metformin and the kit to test my blood glucose) are free.
Ireland, of course, loves bureaucracy, and to get these things for free, you have to apply for a long-term illness card. Naturally, this was one of the things I applied for after diagnosis.
When the card arrived, they had misspelled my name by putting a space between “Mc” and “F”. That might seem like a trivial issue, but that misspelling has caused us trouble in the past. I tried to get it sorted out, but the bureaucracy was too much for me to cope with, so I tried plan B – contacting a local politician. In my case, I contacted Dr Cathal Berry, one of the TDs for Kildare South, where we live.
His reply was wonderful
Very sorry to hear of your recent diagnosis. Glad to hear that you have been granted an LTI card though.
Unfortunately it is not technically possible to change the printed name as that is, by convention, how words like “Mac/Mc/O/Ni” names appear on medical cards.
The most important issue for us is that you receive all the entitlements you deserve however. Thankfully, I would not anticipate any difficulties whatsoever from that point of view.
He wasn’t able to get my name corrected on the card, but he was able to explain to me why it was spelled that way. He was able to identify the important issue, which helped me put this issue into perspective. And with the simple words “Very sorry to hear of your recent diagnosis” he made me feel human and valued.
Normally, I don’t hold with thanking politicians, because it only encourages them, but in this case I think he deserves thanks!
Thank you, Cathal Berry. Your assistance helped me with an issue that was troubling me. You are the kind of politician that Ireland needs.