Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

My colleague, Senator Swanick, has covered most of the points I wished to make. Many of the proposals the Minister of State brings to this House are welcome, and lots of people will be grateful for what she is bringing forward in this legislation. In particular, taking on board the concerns of members of the Defence Forces shows the Government has been listening to at least one group whose members were encountering a specific difficulty in later years. However, the only members of the forces these provisions will actually accommodate are those holding a commission. Members of the enlisted ranks never could and probably never will be able to afford health insurance. I do not say this in a mean way but merely as a statement of fact that will prevail until we have soldiers with a rate of pay that allows them to purchase such things as health insurance.

My only other concern regarding this Bill is that we are driving people into insured health care. That is not necessarily a bad thing but, on the other hand, it is happening in a context where anybody who walks around Dublin city will notice the contrast between all the private hospitals that are popping up all over the place and the fact that waiting lists continue to lengthen in the public sector. If everybody is driven into insured health, God knows what the situation will be. Most likely we will see queues in both private and public hospitals. However, as things are at the moment, anything that helps people to avail of health insurance is to be welcomed. I thank the Minister of State for bringing forward a Bill that sorts out a number of issues about which I had concerns.