John Moloney (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

I understand the Senator's point of view. Again, this provision is to protect the consumer, and it is also intended to provide protection to insurers. The provider can go to the authority to make it aware of a product. There have been examples in the past in which a provider introduced a product without fully researching its compatibility with existing legislation and it turned out to be in conflict with existing legislation. One that comes to mind is the cash plans introduced by a certain group some time ago, which contravened existing legislation. Thus, it is also an attempt to provide a certain level of security for providers.

The relevant section provides that the insurer shall submit samples of proposed contracts to the HIA ten days in advance of offering them. When the Bill was initially published, the specified period was 20 days. Having considered representations from the industry and from Opposition Members and colleagues, including Deputy Reilly, the period was reduced from 20 days to ten.

The amendment proposed for this section by Senator Fitzgerald would reduce this period to three working days. Given the time necessary to enable the authority to consider any proposed contracts and to reply, if necessary, the proposed timeframe is not feasible. Perhaps this should have been better explained on Second Stage. The provision offers certain protections to providers to ensure their offerings are compatible with existing legislation.