Dr. Donal de Buitléir:

The extent to which it happens cannot be quantified, but it was clear from the evidence we received from the insurance companies that the reason 50% of the people in this country take out private health insurance is that they believe they can do that. It is a big selling point for insurance. We asked the question to what extent. We cannot get the data, but the people who have experience of the system experience it in their day-to-day lives. They have a perception that if they do not have private health insurance, they will be disadvantaged in some way.