Varadkar: We are not parking universal health insurance

Leo Varadkar, the health minister, has denied claims that he is allowing the Government’s plan for universal health insurance to "slowly wither and die" because of fears it will cost Fine Gael votes.

He said the plan has not been parked, but that it is unlikely to be introduced before 2019 as had been previously stated in the Coalition policy document, Future Health.

He said the full cost of universal health insurance to individuals, employers, and the exchequer will be known next spring “and then we can take the debate from there”.