Sean Barrett (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 2:

In page 4, line 12, to delete "The Authority" and substitute "The Central Bank of Ireland".

I referred earlier to the Central Bank's views on this. Health insurance is a financial service and the European Court of Justice decided on 29 September 2011 that it was to become such. Ireland had to pay the costs in the case. The court found against Ireland for failing to apply to all insurance undertakings, on a non-discriminatory basis, the European Union insurance legislation in its entirety. Last February, it was in the process of moving over to the Central Bank. There are difficulties when the Minister owns an insurance company and other people try to compete with it. We have been very slow to implement the decisions of the European Court of Justice and other decisions. I was hoping that we could arrange for the transfer of that authority to the Central Bank on the basis that it is a financial service and on the basis that we have been asked by the European Court of Justice on a number of occasions and have continually sought to defer it. It is supposed to be done by the end of 2013. The rumour is that it is being deferred again. Should we not do it?