Departmental Reports

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 17 December 2013

Tuesday, 17 December 2013

Questions (542)

Lucinda Creighton

Question:

542. Deputy Lucinda Creighton asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 445 of December 2013, in view of the fact that a person (details supplied), from VHI stated at the Joint Committee on Health and Children on 28 November 2013 that VHI had never seen the Matheson Goodbody report, if he will explain the way he determined the commercial sensitivity ruling with respect to the information pertaining to VHI; if he will elaborate further on which other commercial organisations could be impacted by the information in the report in a way which informs the decision that such information is commercially sensitive; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53667/13]

Written answers

Minister for Health

As the Deputy is aware, the report conducted by Goodbody Stockbrokers and Matheson Ormsby Prentice Solicitors, concerns options to address the imbalance in the private health insurance market, and examined market structure, the position of existing insurers, and the issue of rebalancing the market so that there would be a more even spread of higher and lower risks between insurers.

As I stated in my reply on 3 December 2013, the report contains commercially sensitive information, not only relating to the VHI, but also to the two other private health insurers operating in the market at the time of drafting, and I do not propose to publish the report at this time.