The country's 1.5 million VHI subscribers will face an additional 2.5 per cent increase in premiums next year as a result of rises in hospital charges set out by the Government in its Estimates for 2006.
It has increased the cost of private beds in public hospitals by 10 per cent for next year.
VHI Healthcare, the country's largest private health insurance company, said yesterday that the increase in the bed charges would add 2.5 per cent to subscription costs for next year.
This will be in addition to any increases required to deal with other costs.
Subscribers to the other main private health insurers, Bupa Ireland and Vivas, are also likely to face increases in premiums as a result of the bed charge rises.
A spokeswoman for VHI said last night that the cost of private beds in public hospitals was one of the main drivers of increases in subscriptions.
Meanwhile People with Disabilities in Ireland, (PwDI), the national body representing all people with disabilities, yesterday expressed concern that most of the money for disability in the Estimates had been allocated to the health services.
Nigel Brander, PwDI national chairman, said: "While health is a vital area, this smacks of the medical model of disability rather than a human rights approach.
"We would be concerned that the vital issues of education and employment for people with disabilities may be neglected."
He said a recent ESRI report for the National Disability Authority had found that in education people with disabilities aged 25 to 34 were four times less likely to have a qualification beyond primary level and were half as likely to reach third level as their peers.
Also in a statement yesterday, Fine Gael spokeswoman on education Olwyn Enright claimed that educational psychological services were facing cuts in real terms under the Government spending proposals.
"The standstill in funding to the National Educational Psychological Service for 2006 constitutes a sharp cut when considered against inflation," she said.
"Access will be curtailed over the coming year. Fewer children will be assessed, and fewer schools will be covered by the service than at present."
Meanwhile Minister for Health Mary Harney clashed with the main medical bodies yesterday over their criticism of Government spending plans for health next year.
The Irish Medical Organisation said that the 9 per cent increase would barely keep pace with medical inflation.
The Irish Hospital Consultants' Association warned that there were still insufficient acute hospital beds, and this would continue to result in hundreds of patients being left on trolleys and 80 patients per day having elective procedures cancelled.
Ms Harney said the criticism of the health spending plans was "unfounded and misguided". Significant new services over and above those introduced in 2005 would be provided as a result of €250 million in extra funding.
