Results 821-840 of 1,051,565 for in 'Dáil debates' OR in 'Committee meetings' (speaker:Damien English OR speaker:Jim O'Callaghan OR speaker:Niall Collins OR speaker:Pádraig O'Sullivan OR speaker:Dara Calleary OR speaker:Colm Burke)

Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2024: Second Stage (23 Oct 2024)

Stephen Donnelly: I am sure it is being looked at.

Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2024: Second Stage (23 Oct 2024)

Richard Boyd Barrett: That is why people are driven into the private health insurance market. People make money out of it but it perpetuates an unfair two-tier system and perpetuates the problems in the public health system.

Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2024: Second Stage (23 Oct 2024)

Seán Ó Fearghaíl: Deputy Boyd Barrett, your contributions are always colourful but you made a comment earlier about Mr. Goodman when you talked about moving from animal meat to human meat. I do not think that type of comment is appropriate.

Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2024: Second Stage (23 Oct 2024)

Mattie McGrath: Hear, hear.

Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2024: Second Stage (23 Oct 2024)

Seán Ó Fearghaíl: It is dehumanising both of the people who received treatment in the hospital and of the gentleman you referred to. Will you withdraw that comment?

Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2024: Second Stage (23 Oct 2024)

Richard Boyd Barrett: Out of deference to your good self, a Cheann Comhairle, I will do that.

Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2024: Second Stage (23 Oct 2024)

Seán Ó Fearghaíl: I appreciate that.

Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2024: Second Stage (23 Oct 2024)

Cathal Berry: I very much welcome the opportunity to make some brief comments on behalf of the Regional Group on the Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2024. The Minister and I have interacted over the last four and a half years on health issues in this Chamber and, indeed, in the Convention Centre, so he knows my views. Very similar to, I would say, most Deputies in this Chamber, we are in favour of a...

Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2024: Second Stage (23 Oct 2024)

Mattie McGrath: Does the Deputy know something we do not know?

Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2024: Second Stage (23 Oct 2024)

Cathal Berry: I have brought a number of cases to the Minister's attention over the past four and a half years and I thank him for following up on them. It is hugely appreciated, especially by the patients. I remember there was quite a specialised drug a particular patient in Newbridge was looking for and it has had a transformative effect of their lives. I very much appreciate that as well. I thank...

Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2024: Second Stage (23 Oct 2024)

Mattie McGrath: The Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2024 could have several impacts on the ordinary people. It is the ordinary people we must try to protect here. I have to declare I have been in and out of hospital a lot lately, both public and private. I am lucky to have the private. As Deputy Berry says, the inflationary costs and the increases in health insurance are just astronomical. Depending...

Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2024: Second Stage (23 Oct 2024)

Ruairi Ó Murchú: It looks as though we will have a good deal of agreement on support for this legislation. We have spoken about the need for amendments but there has been some failure. As an example, yesterday I visited Clan na Gael's GAA club near Cox's Demesne in Dundalk, where there was a group called Maxi's Law, which is named after the unfortunate death by suicide of Mark “Maxi” Kavanagh,...

Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2024: Second Stage (23 Oct 2024)

Richard Boyd Barrett: "Laya profits soar to €36.55 million". That was a headline in the newspapers earlier this year. Its profits were up by €14 million. For AXA, I do not have the figure for its profits, but it had €2 billion coming in from premiums. It has 30% of the Irish market, while Laya has 28%, and I think AXA is now underwriting Laya premiums. This is big business and big...

Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2024: Second Stage (23 Oct 2024)

Seán Ó Fearghaíl: Deputy Cathal Crowe is next.

Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2024: Second Stage (23 Oct 2024)

Cathal Crowe: My apologies, I thought I was the speaker after next. I was tuned into something different. My sincerest apologies.

Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2024: Second Stage (23 Oct 2024)

Seán Ó Fearghaíl: So did I but my monitor is telling me something else now.

Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2024: Second Stage (23 Oct 2024)

Cathal Crowe: A Cheann Comhairle, thanks for calling me to speak. Like other Deputies I welcome the Bill. This is one of those pieces of legislation each year that is up there with the Social Welfare Bill and the Finance Bill. It is very important. It needs to go through the Houses. It is about ensuring that older people in society will end up with insurance cover, that there is risk equalisation,...

Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2024: Second Stage (23 Oct 2024)

Duncan Smith: The Labour Party will be supporting this legislation, as we have previously. Risk equalisation, which the Bill provides for annually, ensures costs will be constant across a lifespan for an individual. It seeks to ensure that, where possible, age, gender and health status will not influence the cost of an insurance product. Let me be clear, though. Our support for this Bill is not an...

Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2024: Second Stage (23 Oct 2024)

Róisín Shortall: This is the annual practice of committing to the provisions of this legislation relating to the private health insurance market to provide for community rating and risk equalisation. It is a technical measure. In the context of a private health insurance market, it makes sense not to have cherry-picking by some of the newer entrants into the market or any kind of marketing to attract...

Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2024: Second Stage (23 Oct 2024)

David Cullinane: This is an annual Bill to review the risk equalisation mechanism that supports the community-based health service insurance market. It revises the stamp duty levy on policies and the risk equalisation credits payable to insurers for 2025. Risk equalisation as a principle ensures that costs are constant across the lifespan of the individual. It seeks to ensure, where possible, that age,...