Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)

Everyone is in favour of universal primary care, but we do not know its exact cost or who will bear that cost. If the cost is taken from the Minister's current health budget, services elsewhere will be cut. A couple of weeks ago, we were counting the number of incontinence pads available to people in Kilkenny. This is how serious the situation is.

The Minister is the major stakeholder in the VHI on behalf of the Irish people. In the context of universal health insurance, does he agree that it is flying against his policy of covering private hospitals to increase accessibility and make treatments available to its policyholders?

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