Sir, – Contrary to what Brian O'Brien implies (April 8th), that average life expectancy is "the most obviously meaningful measure" of the standard of healthcare provided, the most recent data available on the subject shows that "lifestyle" is by far the most significant factor. The three top countries, with a significantly longer life expectancy than the rest, are Hong Kong, Japan, and Macao and, as with other countries that come next to them, lifestyle is recognised as the factor that leads to this result. The other statistic he reaches for is the lower Covid death rate suffered here as compared to the UK, suggesting that the UK model of universal healthcare was somehow less effective than our two-tier model.
Aside from the fact that the Government here effectively nationalised the private sector to maximise efforts to deal with the pandemic, the slow intervention by the British government as Covid spread is the most likely sole cause of that discrepancy.
In the context of the debate as to whether the provision of free at the point of delivery healthcare will influence how people might vote on a border poll, ask a mother with a few children, who can see a doctor free when needed up North, how she would vote. The answer is surely a no-brainer.
This is, and will be, a huge issue in any such poll, and many observers are of the view that a public universal healthcare system will have to form part of the eventual unification agreement. – Yours, etc,
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JIM O’SULLIVAN,
Rathedmond,
Sligo.