Health services - A chance to define a new, fairer Ireland

ABOUT half of the population is covered by private health insurance but the proportion is falling.

Reduced incomes, unemployment and spectacular increases in premia mean that very many people can no longer afford the security, real or imagined, that private health insurance represents. This is a considerable blow to the psyche and self-image of middle-class Ireland.

Still more people have decided to reduce their cover, though dearer premia — up to 40% in some instances — may mean that their bill remains the same but they have been forced to settle for less cover.