Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is clear we should not underestimate this issue. Every year, 20,000 people reach the age of 65, which equates to 3.3% annual growth compared with overall growth of 0.5%. In 2003, only 13% of those who had health insurance were aged over 60. That increased to 15.9% in 2009 and to 19% in 2012. It is a fact of life that our population is ageing and we will retain community rating and not have a situation where older people in our society are manipulated by health insurance companies that will seek to present health plans that effectively abandon the older population. We cannot and we will not do that.

Even in these straitened times, the Government still provides €400 million in support to policyholders through the tax system and €400 million in a subsidy to the public beds system because we do not charge for the full economic cost of beds in hospitals. While these things are never easy, we must and will maintain community rating and risk equalisation in order that the older people in our society are not abandoned.

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