Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I ask for more clarification on some issues, to which Senator Burke referred. The per diem charge in public hospitals is a major concern. In my view the grouping of hospitals would provide an incentive to ensure that the per diem charge remains forevermore. We should be under no illusions; it is a money-generating measure. The policy decision is not based on anything more than its being a method of raising funds to subsidise the hole in the public purse. Until such time as we accept that this is a fact of life and deal with it, we will be talking in circles.

Intergenerational solidarity - the young subsidising the old and the healthy subsidising the sick - is a policy decision which society has accepted. However, we never bought into the concept that poor, struggling families should subsidise rich, well-funded Rolls Royce premiums. This committee needs to deal with that issue. The Health Insurance Authority must also be aware of this fact.