Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

This is one of the ultimate head-in-the-sand measures from this budget. It is unfortunate that the Minister, Deputy Reilly, is not here in the House to defend it. I was very annoyed by the Minister, Deputy Noonan's characterisation of plans as "gold-plated", as if they are some sort of luxury for people. I want to give an example of what a so-called "gold-plated" plan is. I was contacted this evening by a young woman who suffers from chronic pain syndrome. She has to travel from Mayo to the national pain centre at St. Vincent's Hospital every two months to have a box in her stomach filled with pain relief medication. She has a very high VHI premium due to using that service but there is nothing gold-plated about that. That woman is on disability benefit of €188 a week and is still managing to pay her VHI because she cannot depend on the public system, but this measure will cost her €150 extra a year and she does not have it. There is nothing gold-plated about that kind of experience. There is nothing gold-plated about the 20,000 people aged over 70 who tonight face losing their medical cards. They are paying a higher VHI premium, not for gold-plated services but for basic services and comforts at that stage of their life, but they must now face the prospect of the little tax relief they are getting on their VHI being gone or reduced.

When one considers the restrictions to medical card eligibility, the increase in prescription charges and the further €666 million to come out of the health service within the next three weeks - perhaps that is where the Minister is tonight - this measure is completely ignorant of the reality of health insurance today. People are leaving in their droves yet we are now going to drive more people into the public hospital system, which cannot cope and is about to take another cut of €666 million. The characterisation of "gold-plated" shows an ignorance of the state of health insurance and of the kind of restrictions on health insurance packages in recent years which have made the plans more basic. What we are going to do is drive more people onto waiting lists and into the public system, which is already at risk. People with chronic illnesses, who depend on their health insurance cover to give them a little comfort and relief, are looking at this tonight and wondering why they bother to pay health insurance. All we will do is add to our ever-growing problem.

It is unfair that the two Ministers opposite have been left in the House while the Minister, Deputy Reilly, has gone missing again - he has gone back into hiding, by the look of it. This is a very unfair measure. It will hit people who are suffering very hard.

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