Darragh O'Brien (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

With regard to the action taken by the Garda Síochána and the HSE concerning two children, one in Tallaght and one in Athlone, I ask people to be careful about knee-jerk criticism of the force and the HSE in this regard. I agree wholeheartedly with the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Shatter, and welcome his announcement of a swift investigation and independent report by the Ombudsman for Children, which is correct. Can one imagine a situation, if there had been a doubt and the Garda or the HSE had not acted, in which, God forbid, something happened? I ask those who saw fit yesterday evening and will see fit this morning to criticise the Garda and HSE workers to be careful doing so. In the past we have had incidents in which earlier intervention would have assisted children, so I do not think we can leave anything to chance. That is my personal view. I do not think we can leave anything to chance if there is any doubt whatsoever. I want that clear message sent from here today. I am concerned that the criticism that has rained upon the Garda and the HSE might discourage people from putting forward cases they are concerned about.

Furthermore, I wish to raise my continued concern about private health insurance. I have raised the matter on several occasions over the past two years, so its not just because of the budget provisions. As Members will know, more than 300,000 people have given up their private health insurance policies. A number of specific examples have been given to me. Last night I was told about a retired couple, in which the wife is 65 and the husband is 66, who have a health insurance policy with a renewal date of 1 January. In advance of the renewal date they inquired of VHI the effects that the budget would have on their plan, which is called HealthPlus Extra - Plan B with options. It is not what the Minister for Finance would call a gold-plated plan. The retired couple discovered that their premium would increase from a net cost of €283 to €391.90 per month. I can give numerous examples of similar cases. If the reports in the Irish Independent today are correct, then the Minister for Health shares my concerns and those of my party and others that we are facing a major crisis. Apparently, the private insurers have already flagged a price increase of between 10% and 15% to take effect from next December. The further reduction or capping of tax relief on the first €1,000 for adults and €500 for children will force thousands of people out of private health insurance. Either the Minister for Finance made a grave error and based his decision on incorrect information, or he knew exactly what he was doing. If it is the latter then why did he tell the Dáil in his statement that the measure would affect a minority of policyholders who had, to use his words, "gold-plated" private health insurance policies? I gave the example of a standard plan for a retired couple from Portmarnock. It is not a gold-plated plan, but they are looking at an increase of nearly €100 per month. As I have requested previously, I ask the Minister for Finance, Deputy Noonan, to clarify this serious matter. Did he make a mistake? Did he mislead the Dáil? With that in mind, I shall table an amendment to the Order of Business. I request that the Minister come here to make a statement clarifying on what he based his decision to cap tax relief on private health insurance. I want him to confirm whether his Department is now saying that 577,000 policies will be affected, which does not seem like a minority to me. The Insurance Federation has stated that 1.2 million policies will be affected. Whatever way one examines the matter, a significant number of normal people will be hammered by the initiative. I want the Minister to attend the House for one hour today to explain his rationale in this regard.