Paul Connaughton Snr (Galway East, Fine Gael)

The first words I want to say to the VHI are shame on it and shame on any organisation that will bring such misery to the oldest section of this country's population. What it did is outrageous, and it is all about politics. I was a member of the Joint Committee on Health and Children and we have been looking at risk equalisation for the past five or six years. The VHI found that we have no Government, or a Government that could not care less, and decided to put the shoe in when it got the chance. While what was done is the direct responsibility of the VHI, if we had an active, popular and efficient Government it would not have happened. Telling people they can shop around is baloney. We all know the whole thing will level up after a couple of years. Does anyone think Aviva and Quinn will stay at their level? They will do so for as long as the vast majority of their members are younger than VHI members.

Let no one tell me that any service, no matter where it is, could increase prices by up to 45% in the worst recession in the history of the State when people are losing 20% of their incomes. It is outrageous. People simply cannot understand why, in a democratic republic like Ireland, this would be allowed to happen.

If we can put manners on the VHI, we will have to ensure that people, as they get older, can wake up every morning and thank God they do not have to go to hospital or to a doctor, because when they do they have a huge issue from a health security point of view. From a psychological point of view, as people get older they get extraordinarily worried about their health. It will happen to us all. We never heard of a 45% increase in any product, service or utility. I never heard it in my 35 years in this House. I hope there will be an uprising over this.

What can people do, other than shop around as the Minister advised? They will never forget this increase and many of them will not be able to pay it. It will cause huge problems down the line.

While I always like to see the Minister of State, Deputy Moloney, in the House I am sorry the Minister is not here tonight. Everyone says keeping patients out of hospital is the way to keep costs down. The Minister for Health and Children was born in the parish of Ahascragh in County Galway. The parish's public health nurse retired the other day and, like many other public health nurses, will not be replaced. Public health nurses are hugely important to the health service. On top of this 45% increase in VHI fees, the very people who do their best to keep people out of hospital are not being replaced. I am sorry the Minister is not present to hear this tonight, because she knows every house in the parish I am talking about. What is happening there is an outrageous development.

When one puts the two together, one sees it is time to change the Government and introduce universal health care. No matter how it will work, it has to be better than what is there at present. I believe it will be better.

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