Some 15,000 people with serious medical conditions who lost discretionary medical cards after an eligibility review will have them returned following a decision taken at today’s Cabinet meeting.

The Health Service Executive will be able to undertake an “expeditious reinstatement” of the cards within a matter of weeks without changing the law, according to the Department of Health.

In a statement released following this morning’s Cabinet meeting, the department said the Government accepted the review of the cards “produced unintended consequences”.

The statement said “anecdotal evidence” that some people with acute medical conditions or a lifelong conditions including disabilities had lost their medical cards, “an outcome that the Government could not stand over”.

A new policy will be formulated whereby eligibility can take account of medical conditions, in addition to the existing basis of financial means.

The HSE has established an expert panel to report back by September.

Cards will be returned to those who undertook an eligibility review between July 1st, 2011 to May31st, 2014.

A person must have held a medical or GP visit card issued on a discretionary basis during that period, but had it withdrawn on foot of a completed eligibility review.

Meanwhile, former minister of state for public health Roisin Shortall has welcomed what she described as a “major U-turn” by the Government.

Ms Shortall said many people had been “disgracefully treated”.

However, she said she would query the Department of Health’s figures.

She told RTE that decision-making in the Department of Health had been “chaotic” for some time and said she would seek reassurance that costs would not be deducted from other frontline services.