A response to a parliamentary question stated that the HSE paid debt collection agencies over €2.4 million in the last four years to collect money owed by patients such as €100 emergency department fees. Almost €600,000 was paid to debt collectors by the HSE in 2020. The HSE's use of a debt collection agency is an incredibly regressive measure, especially during a public emergency, particularly when it is going after people who have lost jobs and loved ones and who have been impacted by Covid-19. It is plainly and simply wrong. Does the Tánaiste believe the HSE should engage the use of private debt collection agencies to go after people, many of whom are not in a position to pay bills due to extenuating circumstances?

People have a social obligation to pay their bills and taxes and settle their debts because if they do not do so, they pass those bills and costs onto society and onto other people. That is why they have a moral obligation to do the right thing. I appreciate there will be individual circumstances where people cannot pay for one reason or another. Whether the HSE uses debt collection agencies or collects the debts directly, it needs to be sensitive of that. Even in the most difficult circumstances it is usually possible to agree some form of payment scheme, even if it is over a long number of years and people should do that.