asked the Minister for Health if he will state when the scheme for health insurance under the Voluntary Health Insurance Act, 1957, will be available for public subscription.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Voluntary Health Insurance Scheme.
The Voluntary Health Insurance Board, appointed on 12th February, 1957, under the Voluntary Health Insurance Act, 1957, have a good deal of preparatory work still to complete before they will be in a position to offer a scheme of voluntary health insurance for sale and it is not possible, therefore, to indicate when a scheme will be available for public subscription.
Would it be possible for the Minister to indicate approximately when the scheme might be available?
I could not fix a date.
There is considerable public demand for the scheme. I would urge the Minister to ensure that it will be available as soon as possible.
I am not prepared to deny that there may be a public demand for it, but I have received nothing in the Department which shows that there is such demand. At the same time, that does not stop my being anxious to present this scheme to the public. The board has been set up only very recently. It still has to get premises and recruit staff. One cannot expect them to produce a scheme out of a hat, like a conjurer.