Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

From today the lifetime community rating provision is being implemented. In effect from now on people over the age of 34 will be penalised if they do not purchase private health insurance. I ask the Minister to outline the timeframe for the introduction of universal health insurance. The programme for Government commits to publishing legislation to underpin universal health insurance, but as yet we have not seen the ESRI publish the costs of universal health insurance. It smacks of absolute hypocrisy that we are now forcing people to take out private health insurance without knowing when universal health insurance will be introduced. Does the Government still intend to bring about universal health insurance, compulsory health insurance, or is it just a pretence like many other things in the programme for Government?

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