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

I move amendment No. 1:

In page 4, between lines 13 and 14, to insert the following:

"Amendment of section 7A of Principal Act

3.Section 7A of the Principal Act is amended by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (1):"(1A) Any insured person who has paid a relevant increase over a continuous period of 10 years shall have their age of entry adjusted to 35 if they

continue to remain insured.".".

I submitted this amendment last year. Its seeks to limit the payment of lifetime community rating loading for ten years. Given that lifetime community rating is now in place, it could be argued that continual loading is unnecessary and that there should be a ten-year cut off. In view of the fact that the person has committed himself or herself to that timeframe, one would have thought he or she would make every effort to stay in private health insurance. Is there a logical reason to oppose it? We have had this debate on the bigger issue of universal health insurance and the abandonment of that policy. Clearly, lifetime community rating would not have been necessary if we had compulsory universal health insurance but we now have the option of taking out private health insurance. There is a need to incentive to ensure intergenerational support and solidarity and a vibrant private health insurance market to fund the elderly and the challenges that will have be faced in the years ahead because of the demographics, the changes in medical technologies and the costs that will be incurred.A continual penalty is unnecessary and I ask the Minister to look at that ten year limit.