David Norris (Independent)

I should declare an interest. I am lucky in having plan E, the most expensive plan available. I can be sick at my leisure any time I want. However, it is disgraceful that the most vulnerable, about whom the Government side prates all the time, are not protected in this way. As for the millionaires, I ask the Minister of State to show me one. I live in the north inner city. There are plenty of rich people around from the suburbs. I do not see queues of Rolls Royces outside the State clinics. If the Minister of State can show me where they are and give me a list of the multimillionaires that are soaking up resources, I shall be obliged. That is all rubbish. It is not true, and we all know it and, therefore, the Government should not be using it.

I believe in a universal system. There was a very interesting letter in the newspapers from three very distinguished doctors, Mr. Hugh Flood, consultant neurologist, Dr. Gerry Burke, consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist and Professor Pierce Grace, consultant vascular surgeon at the Regional Hospital Limerick. They put on the record facts to the effect that just over a quarter of Irish citizens are covered by the medical card and about half are covered by private medical insurance, which might say something about our national health service. If a quarter are covered by the medical card and half insure themselves, that would indicate people are voting with their wallets on this one. A quarter of the citizenry have no insurance whatever and, therefore, there could not possibly be a greater argument for universal health care.

The figures were worked out. The HSE board was told that the cost of each new medical card this week was €1,650, but one of the private health insurers was offering coverage for €635 per annum. I do not know whether we could buy into that for the vulnerable citizens. Everybody in this country should be treated equally. That is what was said in the 1916 Proclamation which the Government side seems to have forgotten. I am amazed. Are there any republicans left? I sometimes wonder. We had the call for a boycott on Newry the other day. That is great Thirty-two County republicanism. Now it is a case that one cannot be a millionaire or live long because it is unpatriotic. Why did the Minister for Finance not say that it was unpatriotic to go on living, and that we ought to die out of decency and respect for his cack-handed budget? Well, I am not going to do that.