James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I do not agree with the amendment. Section 11 of the Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2013 amends section 125A of the Stamp Duties Consolidation Act 1999 in respect of the revised rates of stamp duty that will apply to health insurance contracts entered into or renewed after 1 March 2014. The current legislation provides for the payment of the stamp duty levy by authorised insurers on a quarterly basis in respect of each health insurance contract entered into or renewed in each quarter. The change from an annual to a quarterly payment was made to improve the overall funding of the risk equalisation scheme from a timing viewpoint, but with the overall objective that health insurers would continue to pay only one levy per insured person every 12 months. I regret I must reject the amendment.