Paul Bradford (Fine Gael)

I welcome the fact Quinn Group has purchased the BUPA Ireland office in Fermoy. This matter has been raised in the House on many previous occasions. I hope the purchase is successful and will result not just in the retention of jobs but also in competition in the health insurance market, which is the most important factor. It is necessary that the Minister for Health and Children would, at the earliest opportunity, come to the House to discuss the issue of health insurance, risk equalisation and competition. We cannot pretend that what she and the Government said in the past three or four weeks was not said. It is only a fortnight since the Minister, when another company expressed an intention to purchase BUPA Ireland, said that if it did so, the risk equalisation trigger would apply. She is now suggesting it is a matter for the Health Insurance Authority. We need clarification in this regard.

I was advised twice if not three times in the House before Christmas that a joint report on competition in the health insurance market by the Competition Authority and the Health Insurance Authority was ready for publication. It has not been published but it must be published and debated in the House. Prior to Christmas the Minister said she was not for turning on risk equalisation, and the Taoiseach in his memorable performance in Brussels said likewise, yet within a week or two of Christmas the Minister set up another committee to consider the subject. There is an acknowledgement, even at Government level, that risk equalisation is the fundamental issue, not just with regard to community rating but also with regard to encouraging or stopping companies entering the market.

We need to discuss these issues in detail. I ask the Leader to arrange a debate at an early date. I hope what was announced yesterday for Fermoy in north Cork and for 500,000 health insurance customers will transpire to be long-term good news. We need to get answers from the Minister, who is responsible, on the broader issue of her policy — whether it is revised or otherwise — on risk equalisation. There have been varied signals in the past six weeks and we need clarification.