The European Court of Justice ruled Thursday that Ireland is in breach of European law by exempting the government-controlled Voluntary Health Insurance, or VHI, the country's largest health insurer, from oversight by the Irish central bank.

The ruling by the Luxembourg-based court will likely force the Irish government to inject an estimated EUR338 million into VHI in order to boost its solvency reserves to the same levels as required of other insurers, said Tom Carney, an insurance expert at law firm Dillon Eustace.

It may also open the Irish government to claims for damages from health insurers Quinn Healthcare and Aviva, he said.

Government figures show VHI controls 60% of the Irish private health insurance market, with 1.4 million subscribers.

An Irish government spokesman said it was studying the implications of the ruling.

-By Eamon Quinn, Dow Jones Newswires, +353 1 676 2189; eamon.quinn@dowjones.com

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