Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The health insurance industry is going through a crisis as we speak. There is significant concern and anxiety among many policyholders and members of various insurance companies across the board, including the VHI group, to such an extent that many seasoned analysts claim that the industry is in danger of entering a debt spiral against which the centre cannot hold.

The programme for Government contains extensive proposals on health insurance, in particular the establishment of a hospital insurance fund, which was committed to early in the lifetime of the Government. Will the Taoiseach outline to the House when the hospital insurance fund is to be established? Will he indicate when the injection of capital into the VHI group will occur? Substantial moneys are necessary to sustain it. When will the HSE's function for purchasing care for uninsured patients be given to a hospital care purchase agency?

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