Mr. Jim Joyce:

We will both contribute. Regarding universal health insurance, as the Chairman will appreciate, it is not possible for me to say very much but one can make some general comments. First, the main difference between universal health insurance and the private health insurance arrangements we have currently is that everyone would be automatically covered and therefore it would deal with the situation of younger subscribers. The point about universal health insurance is that it covers everyone.

Deputy Ó Caoláin asked about the model that would be appropriate. There are various models. The Minister has spoken about most of them. There is a great deal of talk about the Dutch model, and it is undoubtedly true that one of the main issues is how we ensure there is a competitive marketplace in a much smaller country, but that is about as much as one can say about it. It is a generic comment.