Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Labour)
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Question 220: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the registration or notification procedures in place to track the number of people with private health insurance; if regular statistics are collected on the number of people who have health insurance cover and the number of people covered; and if she will provide figures on the number of people currently with a policy, the number of people covered by these policies and the equivalent figures for 2006, 2007 and 2008. [13314/09]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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The Health Insurance Authority compiles statistics on the market based on returns made by insurers. The most recent data available to the Authority relates to 31 December 2008. The Authority includes summary market data in its annual Reports, which are laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas. Detailed data concerning the market is available in reports and surveys on the Authority's website.

While its 2008 Report is not yet published the Authority has informed my Department that at the end of 2008 2,299,000 people were insured — estimated at 51.6% of the population. Of these 1,011,000 were policyholders and the balance dependants (mostly spouses and children). The equivalent figures for 2007 were 2,245,000 people insured (51.2% of the population) and for 2006, 2,174,000 people (50.9% of the population).