David Cullinane (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister to the House. This is a Bill that Sinn Féin and I will support. However, I wish to make some comments about the health service, private health insurance and the Government's model.

The legislation aims to update the regulation regime for the health insurance sector. Some elements, community weighting, for example, are necessary in the delivery of our health system as currently structured. In recent times, we have seen a slight increase in the numbers of people taking out private health insurance but the reality is that it is still unaffordable for huge swathes of the population who simply cannot afford to take out private health insurance but at the same time cannot depend on the public system due to pressure in our hospitals and long waiting times in some areas. The Minister will be aware of a number of recent reports which looked at waiting times in regional, local and national hospitals and across some specialties where, unfortunately, people are waiting longer than 12 months for outpatient access to a consultant and treatment. That was the Government's position so obviously it has not met its targets in terms of waiting times. It is obvious that some people cannot depend on our public health services and at the same time cannot afford to access private health insurance which deepens inequality in the health service.

Sinn Féin prefers progressive and equitable funding of a single tier system, free at the point of care, that provides for all on the basis of need, and need alone. In the past that model was supported by the Labour Party and, hopefully, it will do so in the future as we move towards a left Government in the State and that we will see universal health care-----