Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)

Amendment No. 6 is a technical drafting amendment to open the section further to enable the inclusion of paragraph (d). Amendment No. 7 provides for subsection 5 being subject to subsection (5A) which follows as amendment No. 11. Amendment No. 11 sets out in greater detail than contained in the present section 2 the means by which the board may accumulate the reserve required to secure authorisation from the Financial Regulator. It is appropriate that the VHI should have the maximum flexibility as to how it achieves the level of solvency required to satisfy the Financial Regulator.

As regards paragraph (e), the provision of any capital by the State, either by way of a loan or in return for shares, would only take place on an arms length commercial basis. The Government and the European Commission would have to be satisfied in advance that any such investment by the State did not constitute state aid.