Bill blocks cancer-patient insurance discrimination
The Government says that final proposals on legislation to ensure that certain insurance products cannot discriminate against cancer survivors will be brought before Cabinet by the end of next month.
The new laws are to ensure that cancer survivors can access products such as mortgage-protection insurance on fair and equitable terms.
Ministers agreed to go ahead with the Central Bank (Amendment) Bill 2025, known as ‘right to be forgotten’ legislation, last summer, but Minister of State Robert Troy said at the time that there was work to do to develop the bill.
Threshold to rise
After a meeting with the Irish Cancer Society that marked Daffodil Day, Tánaiste Simon Harris and Minister Troy said that two key measures would underpin the law:
- A reduction in the required remission period from seven years to five years, in line with international medical standards, and
- An increase in the sum-assured threshold from €500,000 to €650,000.
In a statement, they said that the bill would build on a voluntary code of practice introduced by Insurance Ireland in December 2023.
The voluntary code requires insurers to disregard a cancer diagnosis seven years after treatment completion (or five years for those diagnosed under 18) for mortgage-protection insurance up to €500,000.
‘Future-proofed'
The ministers also said that the legislation would be future-proofed, through a provision that would allow for the sum-assured threshold to be reviewed in line with the Residential Property Price Index, after consultation with industry representatives, regulatory bodies, and other stakeholders.
“A cancer diagnosis should never define somebody’s financial future or inhibit them from owning their own home. For too long, this, sadly, has been the case,” said the Tánaiste.
Minister Troy said that the bill, first introduced by Fianna Fail TD Catherine Ardagh, had support across the house, adding that he looked forward to its “quick passage” for the remaining stages.
The Department of Finance had previously said that the bill had to be “carefully aligned” with EU regulatory frameworks.