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

-----and so we await a good summer and well done to the Minister in this regard.

I put into the Minister that Ireland is in the midst of a crisis in the health insurance market. It is undoubtedly experiencing a downward death spiral and an approximate average of 4,000 customers left the market each month in the year up to March 2014. Moreover, 21,000 people have left since the beginning of this year alone, that is, approximately 1,600 per week have quit during the first three months of this year. There has been a haemorrhaging of young and healthy customers from the market, which threatens the very sustainability of the health insurance market into the future, leading to much higher premiums for those who remain in the health insurance market, as well as creating huge pressures for the public health system as Members are aware and as is being experienced.

In response to this, Government policy is incoherent. Insured patients are now subject to dramatically increased charges for public hospital beds - up to approximately €852 per night - which constitutes a dramatic increase. If one adds to this the significant curtailment of tax relief that was announced in this year's budget, overall one gets a Government charge of approximately €300 million. The Government has dipped into the pockets of private health insured people to the tune of approximately €300 million in recent times. All of this has had a dramatic impact and has accelerated further the exodus from the health insurance market itself. Meanwhile, the Minister, Deputy Reilly, peddles the mandatory universal health model, which is vague and uncosted. Incidentally, I note the Taoiseach failed to voice confidence in the Minister for Health yesterday, having been asked to so do.

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