Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Question 105: To ask the Minister for Finance the aggregate cost to the State for each year, from 2005 to 2009, of tax expenditure relating to health, that is, the value of all tax concessions relating to the health sector, and within this cost, the value of the proportion attributable to personal tax relief in respect of health insurance premia; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31627/10]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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I am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that the relevant health-related tax reliefs for which costs to the Exchequer can be provided are set out as follows alongside the associated figures of cost.

Estimated cost to the Exchequer €m

(p) provisional

The cost figure given for medical insurance premia in 2009 above does not include the cost to the Exchequer of €216 million of the age-related tax relief at source, which is established by the Health Insurance (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009. This tax credit is part of a scheme designed to address the issues covered by the Supreme Court judgment of 2008 that found against the risk equalisation scheme for the provision of private health insurance.

The scheme is two-fold, an age-related tax credit to compensate for the higher cost of insurance for older persons, which is funded by a levy on health insurance companies based on the number of people covered by policies underwritten by them. This scheme is a temporary measure for three years from 1 January 2009 to 31 December 2011. It is intended that it will be revenue-neutral over its duration. Part of the cost of contributions to permanent health benefit schemes is not identifiable as a result of the move to a "net pay" basis for contributions by PAYE taxpayers from 6 April, 2001.