Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Health Insurance Authority is the independent regulator of the health insurance market and performs a range of specialist functions, as set out in the Health Insurance Acts. These include monitoring the market, advising the Minister, operating and managing the risk equalisation fund, providing consumer information and maintaining registers. In carrying out its monitoring role, the authority is cognisant of competition issues. It is also mindful of the role of the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, which was established in October this year following the amalgamation of the Competition Authority and the National Consumer Agency. The commission has statutory responsibility for enforcing Irish and European competition law in Ireland and bringing anti-competitive behaviour and practices that are harmful to consumers to an end. This would include any anti-competitive practices in the health insurance market. Charging two regulatory bodies with overseeing anti-competitive practices would create confusion in the market. I am satisfied the function rests appropriately where it currently does, with the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission.