Labour Party leader Eamon Gilmore today said new figures he has received suggested the cost of building private clinics on the grounds of public hospitals could be over €1 billion.
After questions he had put to the Taoiseach on Wednesday in the Dáil regarding the co-location policy, Mr Gilmore said he had received a briefing document from the Taoiseach “that answers some - but not all - of my questions”.
“The most significant information disclosed in the memo is that the total cost to the taxpayer in terms of the promised tax concessions for developers and the loss of income for public hospitals could be more than €1 billion over the next seven years," the Labour leader said.
"The Taoiseach's document discloses that the gross cost of tax relief for the private developers would be €41 million for every €100 million spent over seven years.”
"If we take an estimate of €250m as the average cost of the proposed eight private clinics, it would mean that each developer would qualify over seven years for tax relief amounting to €102.5 million or a total cost to the taxpayer of over €800 million,” Mr Gilmore said.
"To this must be added the loss of income that public hospitals will suffer as a result of the transfer of business from private health insurance companies, such as VHI, to the new clinics.”
"The information I have received from the Taoiseach has increased my concern about the wisdom of this scheme. The only people that appear to be driving this plan are the private developers and Minister Harney, with the support of the new Taoiseach,” Mr Gilmore added.
Mr Gilmore called on Mr Cowen to “stand back and take a new look at this whole proposal”.