Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Anti-Austerity Alliance) | Oireachtas source

Yes. I will preface my supplementary question by stating the following. In terms of the conclusions reached by the committee on how to deliver single-tier health care, my position is that noting is ruled in and nothing is ruled out. Evidence has been given to this committee that following the example of Canada would be a powerful assistance in achieving a single-tier health system. Canada has taken steps to tackle private health insurance by providing a credible tax based alternative to people. I will not rule anything in or out in terms of the committee's proposal.

I shall ask my supplementary question. A contradiction exists because private hospitals and private health insurers are, using Dr. Turner's phrase, embedded in the system. He mentioned the interesting scenario of single-tier public hospital care and single-tier primary health services without subsidising the private sector. If one did that with any real measure of success more people, progressively and incrementally, would be brought into the public health care system and, progressively, fewer people would use the private health care system. At a certain point issues would arise with the 8,000 jobs in the private hospitals system and the 2,000 jobs in the private insurance system. Problems could be averted by nationalisation because the sectors would be integrated on a different basis and jobs would be protected. One cannot have a big public health care sector used by masses of people and a big private health care system used by masses of other people yet have anything approaching a single-tier health care system. The more successful the public system is the greater balance will be achieved.

Would Dr. Turner not accept that that is the case?