Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)

BUPA was regulated in the United Kingdom when it was doing business here. At the time, it operated under a solvency requirement of approximately 25% and made profits of 17%, an unheard of figure in health insurance. The company did incredibly well. I am stating a fact rather than criticising it as the company provided excellent competition. BUPA also initiated all the early legal action on the issue before us.

Any company regulated in Northern Ireland or outside Ireland can do business in this State. The solvency II directive will be applied by all the national regulators. As an EU directive, it must be applied across the European Union. I welcome this as I understand the solvency requirement will be substantially lower than it is at present.

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