Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

The State has a proud record on this issue under this Government. The second prong in providing support to infected persons is the Health (Amendment) Act card, which entitled the holder to a range of health care services free of charge. I will not take the House through all of the details relating to the card, but health care costs under the Health (Amendment) Act are approximately €15 million per annum. The expert group on hepatitis C, chaired by the Department's chief medical officer and including leading consultants and a member of Positive Action, agreed in 1998 that eligibility for the card should be on the basis of a positive diagnostic test for hepatitis C. The Department has prepared a detailed guide to the services available through the card which includes hospital and primary care services, home support and, this year, a new home nursing scheme being piloted in the east. The representative groups are involved in shaping the development of all new services to ensure they meet their needs.

The third and vital prong is the insurance scheme that is, at long last, before us. With the enactment of this Bill, the unease the victims had about life insurance support will be addressed. I welcome broad welcome for that aspect of the legislation in the House. This will cost approximately €90 million over the lifetime of the scheme, which will run for at least 30 years. Under the proposed scheme, the State will pay the additional risk premium where the life assurer is willing to provide cover subject to an additional premium or the State will assume the risk on the life cover where the assurer is not willing to provide cover. In each case, the person requiring insurance will pay the average basic premium which an uninfected person of the same age and gender would pay.

The scheme will be available in respect of all standard life assurance policies offered by life assurers authorised to transact life assurance business in Ireland and which opt to participate in the scheme. Life assurers which wish to participate in the scheme will enter into an agreement to abide by the rules of the scheme, which will provide for an appeal in the event of a dispute.

The scheme will be administered under the aegis of the Health Service Executive. Specific details on the administration of the scheme will be set out in regulations and an administrator will be recruited as soon as possible after enactment of the primary legislation. A travel insurance scheme will be developed within six months of the commencement of the main scheme.

The State has continued to honour its commitment to maximise the services available to persons with hepatitis C and HIV. Last week an international conference on hepatitis C was hosted by the consultative council on hepatitis C in Dublin Castle, funded by my Department. At this conference we saw how Irish clinicians are working with their international colleagues to improve knowledge about hepatitis C and to ensure the treatment provided to patients is of the highest possible standard to maximise their chances of clearing the virus and living a normal, healthy life. The news from this conference was very good and signalled that more breakthroughs in effective therapies are anticipated.

The conference had a parallel programme which allowed persons with hepatitis C to attend the scientific sessions. It also had specially designed sessions for patients. This was achieved through the excellent co-operation between the support groups, including the Irish Haemophilia Society, Transfusion Positive, Positive Action and the Irish Kidney Association, and clinicians, the HSE and my officials of the Department.

Much has been done in recent years to improve services for persons with haemophilia. The national haemophilia treatment centre at St. James's Hospital has evolved into the national centre for hereditary coagulation disorders and occupies premises at St. James's Hospital. The national centre is a state-of-the-art facility, fully equipped for the diagnosis and management of haemophilia and related disorders, staffed by a highly skilled and dedicated team of professionals and administrative staff——

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