Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I am asking the Minister of State to take on board the concerns that were raised, particularly in respect of low-income workers, and do the maths regarding someone who is, for example, on the minimum wage or €13 per hour and how likely it is that they would have €55 or €60 to go to a doctor and then take that out of the 70%. I ask that he please do that exercise and consider whether that would be an attractive option. "Attractive" is the wrong word, but he should ask if there would be too many barriers in place. If he does the maths he would see that the money that will be taken out, particularly to pay for the visit to the GP. And we are talking about people who maybe do not go to the GP when they need to because money is a factor. You are asking them to take that money out of a reduced take-home pay, in effect. The Minister of State might think about that in the absence of availability of free GP care. He cited all the European rates. I understand that it varies, but the other supports available in those countries also vary except where it comes to access to free GP care. We are very much an outlier in that regard. I respect the fact that it is an aspiration of the Government to bring it in at some point but it is not here now.

I ask again, therefore, that between now and Report Stage that the Minister of State does those simple maths and has a think about the matter. This does act as a barrier. All of us acknowledge that for this to work as a public health tool, it has to be as accessible as possible. I do not think that it is specifically for those workers on low incomes with those two things coming together, that is, the 70% income and the necessity of paying a GP. It places a burden on the worker. I will say it again: no one wants to work in a place where people feel that they have to come in when they are sick. That is not the intention behind this Bill. In order for it to work, it has to work for all workers including those on low incomes.