Brian Ó Domhnaill (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Like many other speakers, I welcome the thrust of the Bill and acknowledge the work done by Senator Feargal Quinn and his staff in bringing it forward. It allows us a welcome opportunity to debate a range of issues which remain to be resolved relating to the health insurance market. The difficulties in this regard are borne out by the fact, as acknowledged by the Minister, that many families and individuals can no longer afford private health insurance. This has a knock-on effect on the public system and a primary knock-on effect on employment and service provision in private hospitals, as we saw last year and again this year.

These proposals come in the wake of the case taken against Ireland by the European Commission at the European Court of Justice in 2011. The finding in that case was that the same regulatory or solvency requirements were not being brought to bear on VHI as those applying to other insurance providers, and this is having a destabilising effect on the Irish insurance market. VHI is the front runner in that market, providing cover to the majority of those who take out health insurance in this country.

It is the market-setter in terms of price as well. It is also adding to the inflationary cost of providing health cover here regardless of whether one likes it. For example, Aviva Health Insurance increased its prices by between 2% and 23% on adult premiums in March this year. VHI increased premiums on 12 of its plans in April or May by between 5% and 23% for adults. Laya Healthcare has finished its promotional price for children on its essential connect family plan on 1 May and the prices have increased here as well.
Coupled with the price increases and the current economic situation, we have seen a substantial decrease in those availing of private health insurance. When considering the categories of people who are choosing not to avail of private health insurance or not renew their premiums, it is startling that the highest number is in the 18 to 29 age bracket, where more than 73,000 chose not to renew their premiums in the period from 2010 to 2013. In my age group of 30 to 39, some 55,000 people chose not to renew their premiums. If those people do not renew their premiums at that age, they will find it very difficult to obtain premiums in the years that lie ahead because, of course, the premiums will increase. While it might not be evident at the moment, that will lead to a crisis in the years ahead.
That is having a knock-on effect in the private hospitals, with the Mater Private Hospital announcing 95 redundancies, representing 10% of the workforce. Dermot Goode of healthinsurancesavings.iehas said that there is a serious risk that one or more private hospitals would close this year. In January the Mount Carmel Hospital went into liquidation, and the Blackrock Clinic and Galway Clinic have reduced their profits. While I am not advocating the support of private hospitals, I am saying that if those private hospitals are not offering the same level of care it is because fewer people are availing of private health insurance.
If a family does not renew private health insurance it is going into the public system, putting more pressure on it. That is having a rippling, knock-on effect, as we mentioned on the Order of Business today, leading to the logjam in the public system at the moment. It is an issue that needs to be addressed urgently. I acknowledge that the Minister is taking steps in that direction. Politically there should be a joined-up approach and one should not play politics with this on every occasion. However, it is one of the issues that is crippling our health service at the moment.
I again acknowledge the work of Senator Quinn. I appeal to the Minister even at this stage to accept the thrust of Senator Quinn's Bill, allow it to go to Committee Stage and work with Senator Quinn on amendments or revisiting parts of the legislation so that at least the Bill can progress without dividing the House. I hope the Minister and Government Senators will accede to that.