Sean Barrett (Independent)

I would like to welcome a statement that was made in one of today's newspapers by the Minister for Health, under the headline "Reilly wants VHI to drive down costs". That point has been made repeatedly from these benches in recent weeks. We have called for the Milliman report to be published in unredacted form. That would help us to make precisely the point the Minister for Health is making. The Minister has said he does not accept "for half a minute" that the costing of various procedures should increase by 9% every year. He has added that he intends to appoint four new directors. I ask the Leader to invite the Minister to debate the issues covered in the Milliman report in this House before he appoints the new directors. We are interested in issues like the VHI's lack of cost-consciousness, which are covered on every page of the Milliman report. Most blatantly, the report mentions that people are being kept in hospital for more than ten days even though best practice suggests they should stay for just three days. I would welcome a debate on the issues raised by the Minister in the report in today's The Irish Times, on the Milliman report and on the forthcoming appointment by the Minister of four new directors of the VHI, with a mandate to drive down costs.