Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 3 December 2013
445. Deputy Lucinda Creighton asked the Minister for Health if he will publish the report conducted by Matheson and Goodbody stockbrokers into recommendations regarding splitting up VHI; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51769/13]
View answerFollowing a competitive EU tendering process, Goodbody Stockbrokers and Matheson Ormsby Prentice Solicitors were appointed in 2011 as financial and legal advisors to make recommendations on options to address the imbalance in the private health insurance market. The report examined the structure of the market, the position of existing insurers in the market and the question of rebalancing the market so that there would be a more even spread of higher and lower risks between private health insurers.
The report was not confined to the question of dividing up the VHI, it examined a range of options for the purposes of rebalancing the market. I have taken careful account of the report to assist in the development of policy on the sustainability of the PHI market. It has also been of assistance in the development of policy on UHI, and in the forthcoming White Paper on UHI.
The report contains extensive commercially sensitive information, particularly in relation to VHI, which would put the company at a disadvantage in relation to its competitors if this information were released. In the circumstances, I do not propose to publish the report at this time.
