Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)

I move amendment No. 5:

In page 5, between lines 39 and 40, to insert the following:

" 'cumulative net financial impact', in relation to a registered undertaking or former registered undertaking which has furnished one or more information returns to the Authority in respect of a period, means the difference between—

(a) the total amount of the age-related tax credits recorded in accounts for that undertaking in respect of that period as extracted from accounts furnished pursuant to section 7F(1)(a) and (b) to the Authority by the undertaking in respect of that period, and

(b) the total amount of the stamp duty referred to in section 125A of the Stamp Duties Consolidation Act 1999 recorded in accounts for that undertaking in respect of that period as extracted from accounts furnished pursuant to section 7F(1)(a) and (b) to the Authority by the undertaking in respect of that period;".

To be fair to the Bills Office, the amendments in this group are all related and technical in nature. While the European Union is willing to agree to the proposed measure as a justifiable state aid, the Commission and Government do not want excessive compensation to arise. The insertion of a definition of the expression "cumulative net financial impact" in amendment No. 5 provides a basis for the health authority to assess on an annual basis whether the cumulative effects of the credits and stamp duty payments result in a positive or negative amount for the undertaking concerned. The definition relates primarily to section 7F of the Bill inserted on Committee Stage. Most of the amendments in the group are in this section.

Under European Union state aid requirements, insurers which are net recipients may, if they make excessive profits, have to repay to the Exchequer any over-compensation granted for providing the services in question. The amendment to the section recognises further the decision of the European Commission to approve the notification made in November, as announced on 18 June. While a framework was inserted on Committee Stage to assess whether over-compensation would arise under the provisions of the Bill, the amendment being made at this stage will ensure the framework more precisely mirrors the Commission's decision. Section 7F provides for the submission of accounts to the health insurance authority by insurers to enable an assessment by the health insurance authority of whether the measures provided for under the Bill resulted in over-compensation.

Amendments Nos. 40 and 41 provide for the authority to determine the extent, if any, to which an insurer's profit, the insurer being a net beneficiary under the provisions of the Bill, constitutes over-compensation. The authority will consider what will be the norm as regards profits in the insurance sector generally and whether the transfer of money under the provisions of the Bill will over-compensate an insurer or generate profits that are above the norm in the sector.

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