Jerry Buttimer (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the witnesses from Aviva, VHI, GloHealth and Laya Healthcare to the second part of today's meeting. I will not go through the names of all those in attendance. I hope members have received the comprehensive presentations that the health insurers furnished to the joint committee. They have been circulated. I ask the various groups to confine their presentations to five or six minutes. That will ensure there is time for questions at the end. We have to conclude at a certain time.

This is an important meeting in the context of this country's health insurance system. Deputy Ó Caoláin has had to leave to go to another meeting. The health insurers will have observed the opening part of this meeting, during which representatives of the Health Insurance Authority confirmed that 2.1 million people, or 47% of the population, were covered by health insurance at the end of June 2012 and that there has been a reduction of almost 61,000 in the number of people with health insurance in the last year. The witnesses will have listened to the questions we asked about the many people who are struggling to keep up with their payments, abandoning their policies, cancelling some of their cover or shopping around to amend their policies. It is easy for us to understand how people are struggling to make payments. According to the Health Insurance Authority website, which was mentioned earlier in the meeting, ten statements announcing price increases in certain policies offered by health insurers have been issued in the last two months. In the last year and a half, each of the players in the health insurance market has announced at least three across-the-board price increases. As Deputy Naughten said earlier, reports in this morning's newspapers suggest that a further increase may be sanctioned in the future. Such measures are of concern to politicians and to people with health insurance who are struggling to maintain their policies.

Price is obviously the primary concern of the health insurance industry. We understand the industry faces a number of challenges. The health insurance market is underpinned by the principles of community rating, open enrolment and lifetime cover. The system is designed to ensure the premium a person pays is not determined by his or her age or health. The risk equalisation element of these principles will be rolled out over the next few months in a policy document and a Bill. We are interested to learn about the impact this will have on competition, price and profitability. The programme for Government provides for a move towards universal health insurance that is underpinned by the principles of social solidarity. I hope this morning's meeting will give us an opportunity to engage in a calm and balanced way. We look forward to hearing the views of the representatives of the health insurers. We hope they interact with the members of the committee.

I would like to remind the witnesses of the position on privilege. They are protected by absolute privilege in respect of the evidence they are to give to the committee. If they are directed by the committee to cease giving evidence on a particular matter and they continue to do so, they are entitled thereafter only to qualified privilege in respect of their evidence. They are directed that only evidence connected with the subject matter of these proceedings is to be given. They are asked to respect the parliamentary practice to the effect that, where possible, they should not criticise or make charges against a person, persons or entity by name or in such a way as to make him, her or it identifiable. Members are reminded of the long-standing parliamentary ruling and practice of the Chair to the effect that they should not criticise, comment on or make charges against a person or persons outside the Houses or an official by name or in such a way as to make him or her identifiable. I ask the representatives of the VHI, Mr. Declan Moran, who is the director of marketing and business development, Mr. John O'Dwyer, who is the chief executive, and Dr. Bernadette Carr, to make their opening remarks.