Dáil debates

Tuesday, 26 November 2019

An Bille um an Naoú Leasú is Tríocha ar an mBunreacht (Ceart chun Sláinte), 2019: An Dara Céim [Comhaltaí Príobháideacha] - Thirty-ninth Amendment of the Constitution (Right to Health) Bill 2019: Second Stage [Private Members]

 

9:35 pm

Photo of Thomas PringleThomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I fully support the Bill. It is worthwhile. Rights to health, to education, to life and to live life to the full are what all citizens should be demanding. The State and Government should be ensuring everybody has these rights. I proposed economic, social and cultural rights twice in the Dáil. My Bill was to enshrine rights in the Constitution. Dr. Harty's Bill is along the same lines. I welcome that. It could be expanded to include all economic, social and cultural rights but since the Government will probably not accept it, my point will not make any difference. It is very encouraging, however, that many members of the Opposition are putting forward Bills to have rights enshrined in the Constitution. There is no doubt that citizens need them. Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan highlighted in her contribution the need to have these rights protected across the board.

Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael will not enshrine these rights in the Constitution because they want to control budgets and how people access services. They want to make it a political gift to give rights to people and extend services to them. It should be within the gift of this Parliament to give everybody what I propose.

In their day-to-day work, Deputies note that even the Head of State pushes for citizens to have health insurance. I believe this is a crime and that the €1.5 billion spent on health insurance could be put into health services to create health services for everybody. I do not believe I should use my tax to supplement other people's health insurance. My tax should be supplementing a health service that everybody can rely on. Nobody tries to break down the detail for people. How many people feel threatened or under pressure to have health insurance in this State? They do not realise the reality. In the past year, a number of people came into my constituency office complaining about health insurance, saying that if they wanted access to treatment, they would have to have health insurance. People do not have to have health insurance. If one has a medical card, the maximum cost will be the cost of seven or eight days of hospital care. All one's treatment will be free. That message has to go out very strongly to all citizens. The contention of politicians and health insurance companies that people must have health insurance is basically a scam. People have healthcare and entitlements, and they should be allowed to proceed on that basis.

In contributions in the Dáil today, Deputies referred to information provided by the Irish Cancer Society indicating people cannot obtain medical cards because they believe their income is too high. The medical card is based on income, not illness. That is reality. No matter how ill people are, they have to go through the whole process of showing their income is over the limit. Only then is the illness considered. In a normal society in which people are treated fairly, medical cards would be given on the basis of illness. This should happen.

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