Colm Brophy (Dublin South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Chairman. I endorse the comments of my colleague. I thank Mr. Breslin and the Chief Medical Officer for their service. I want to address the Department specifically in my first question.

Allowing for Mr. Breslin's opening statement and the preceding media coverage of it, we are facing into a crisis that may last for years rather than months. I want to comment on one particular aspect regarding the private hospitals and private health insurance. Is it effectively irrelevant for people to have private health insurance now? If one takes the position outlined by Mr. Breslin, which is that the Department wishes to retain private hospitals under its control for the duration of the risk of the Covid-19 pandemic, which by his statement will be years, then effectively there is no private healthcare in Ireland and for most people that means an end to private health insurance. There is no logic in paying for private health insurance. Indeed, there is even a questionable logic in continuing to pay for this year's private health insurance.

Mr. Breslin said that someone who is in the system will obviously maintain his or her place in the system. Am I correct in understanding that for somebody with a new complaint there is now no such thing as private healthcare? Does that position have Government or departmental endorsement? Are we happy with a process whereby we say to people who paid tens of thousands of euro over their lives for private health insurance in this country that themoney was, in effect, wasted?