Ms Cliona Loughnane:

I am not sure. There may be an element of public subsidisation. The manner in which Ireland subsidises private health insurance is very unusual by international standards. There are the usual semantics when people talk about subsidies, but it is really a cost to the system. The sui generisway our system has developed is quite unusual, as is the way subsidies have increased over time in line with the increase in the number of people who hold private health insurance. That meshing of the two systems is particular to Ireland.