Thomas Pringle (Donegal South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I do not support either this motion or the Government amendment. This Fianna Fáil motion is a total contradiction, calling on the Government to reduce both the cost of health provision and of private health insurance premiums. There are many reasons for the increases in the premiums, mainly that 70,000 people have given up their health insurance in the past year due to the effect of the recession and the fact that they can no longer afford it, leading to a cycle of increased premia. Part of the reason for this increase has been a welcome move to reduce the subsidy that the health service gives to health insurance companies. Making private health insurers pay for the actual cost of the health care that many who have insurance cover receive from the State is the right thing to do. Fianna Fáil want the cost of insurance and health care reduced. Do they want this to be achieved by including a reduction in the wages of health care workers in the Croke Park extension? I do not see any other proposals here.

In its amendment the Government claps itself on the back about the changes it is making in the health services. We will hear the rubbish again about how universal health insurance will solve all the problems in the health services. It is interesting to note that the Labour Party has dropped all its talk of universal health care, which is completely different from insurance, but Labour has been captured by Fine Gael and will go along with the universal health insurance model.

The Government plans to hand the health services over to the private sector and give control to the insurance companies, a system that has seen the cost of health insurance in Holland treble since the introduction of universal health insurance, which the Government says is the way to go. Holland is the only country in Europe where hospitals are going bankrupt because universal health insurance has made sure that the money for health care goes to fewer and fewer hospitals. The Government plans will ensure the health insurance companies will make all the gains. They will dictate the price in the future and the Oireachtas will not be able to do anything about it. Almost €2 billion is paid in health insurance premia in this State. If that money was raised in taxation on those who can pay it and put into a health service, there would be no need for private health insurance.

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