Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. This Bill is a yearly event and I fully support it. The Minister of State will be glad to know that no amendments to this Bill have been tabled in this House, as I am sure she knows already. The fact that there are no amendments says much about the Bill.

Senator Clifford-Lee made a point on the stamp duty levy reduction. It might be handy to have a note on that because while it is a news line, I do not know the exact impact of it. I ask the Minister of State to circulate that note at some stage, not necessarily today. It would be handy to have a brief note on the impacts of stamp duty levies and the figures we are talking about. I know this measure comes into effect on 1 April 2022. It makes sense.

There is always the challenge of equal access to healthcare. As someone who has Vhi Healthcare insurance, and many of my colleagues also have private healthcare, we too are not guaranteed access to health on that basis. That is a problem in itself. There is also the greater issue of Sláintecare and people accessing health services during the Covid pandemic at a time of amazing demands on our hospitals. To be fair to those working in the private hospital sector, they stood up to the plate and made services available at a very difficult time. In turn, many of their members who had private health insurance took a hit. Speaking for myself and many of my colleagues, Vhi Healthcare sent rebates, though moderate and not very large, to people of approximately €100 or €150. That was a gesture that recognised the same comprehensive services were not provided in a very fast or timely manner. We all have to put our shoulders to the wheel and support people who are vulnerable at particular times when there is a demand on our health services.

I again thank the Minister of State for bringing this Bill to the House. I will give it my full support.