Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)

The intention in this proposal is not to raise revenue but, by way of a levy, to supplement the higher cost of insuring older people through an enhanced tax relief. The matter of ring-fencing any moneys would be a matter for the Minister for Finance. As anybody who has been in Government will know, this policy has never been pursued by any Minister for Finance. A proportion from the money raised from the consumption of tobacco goes to the health service but that is an exception.

I have no control over the moneys that go to Revenue. The health service gets its funding from the Minister for Finance, through the Department and onwards to the Health Service Executive or other funded organisations. Deputy Reilly suggests that, because young people exit the insurance market, this policy was pursued on the basis of advice from the Health Insurance Authority and from our actuarial advisors. The Department of Finance and my own officials were heavily involved. We estimate that the proposed levy will be equal to the amount of money that will be given by way of enhanced tax relief. The total sum is within the pool of those insured. In other words, what is raised by the levy goes back in tax relief. That is the intention. If it were the case that any surplus were to arise, clearly that would be dealt with in a different context.

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