John Gilroy (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Bill. It is good to see that it travelled unopposed through the other House and is likely to do so through this House as well. I am not a great fan of health insurance at all but, in the absence of anything else, it is the best system we have at the moment. Senator Byrne is quite right in drawing our attention to the need to overhaul, to use his language, the entire health insurance system. The number of people who have discontinued health insurance over the recent recessionary years is approximately 300,000 but the number is gradually increasing again. The way we use language in the House is funny. Senator Byrne said it was an insignificant number but 100,000 people in a year, which represents approximately 5%, is a very significant number. That is an example of the emphasis that can be placed on language.

Is the young adult discount achieving the effect the Minister hoped it would and has it been as successful as he hoped? I do not have very much else to say about the Bill except to welcome and support it. I look forward to hearing the Minister's comments.