Joe Behan - Independent Councillor - Wicklow County Council


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Health Insurance Attack

Archive Statements > 2014

Government Strikes Fear into the Hearts of the People Again!


Yet again this Government is ready to attack the hard pressed people of County Wicklow with its outrageous plan to charge every citizen in the country at least 1,600 per year for compulsory health insurance starting next year. This information has only leaked to the people because of internal wrangling between Ministers Howlin and Reilly but nonetheless is another sucker punch to the people of Ireland.

The plan to impose a compulsory health insurance model of delivery which is Fine Gael and Labour policy will effectively hand the management of the health service to private insurance companies who will initially charge more than
1,600 per person per year and then will inevitably hike the insurance premium every year from then on. This will then result in people in County Wicklow being refused basic medical treatment because they can't afford the compulsory insurance.

This appalling plan to dismantle the public health service is being designed deliberately to save money for the Government as there will be legal limits to the public money being spent on our health care. The people of Wicklow did not vote for this policy but the Government is intent on forcing its will on the people regardless.

This will be on top of proposed new water charges which will be introduced later this year and which will impose bills of up to
500 per year for the use of an essential means of life - clean water. It is doubly insulting to the people that the Government intends to hide behind Irish Water and the Energy Regulator when the price of water is decided. They prefer to do this rather than being up front and accept their responsibility for imposing yet another burden on the hard pressed people of Ireland. Adding further insult to injury for Wicklow families is the fact that the water which will be charged for in the Greater Dublin Area will. in fact, be drawn primarily from County Wicklow, yet neither County Wicklow nor its residents will benefit by one cent from the provision of this basic raw material - Wicklow water.

It is time for the people of County Wicklow to make a stand and say to this discredited Government - "Enough is Enough".


Joe Behan
Independent Candidate for Bray, Enniskerry and Kilmacanogue




Serving the people of County Wicklow since 1985 | joebehan@outlook.ie

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