Ms Geraldine Fitzpatrick:

It does as it does with any other patient. It is a problem because treatment is much cheaper there. One could argue it is an opportunity for these people and one cannot blame people for doing these things. In the Irish Medical Journalin January, one of the Dublin clinics talked about single embryo transfer. Deputy Byrne talked about the UK, which funds a certain amount of treatment. Maybe the Government needs to think about funding possibly one or two treatments. If certain criteria are met, it could fund the first one or two cycles. As Senator Crown said, one is then offering a service for people who cannot afford it so they can have it done in Ireland. There is less risk for the patient, less medication involved and less travel. The chances are they will have a singleton birth as opposed to a multiple birth which is less expensive on the Exchequer.
We need to consider how we can meet the needs of people who can afford it. Why should a person who can afford to pay €20,000 not be treated in the same way as somebody who cannot afford it? The UHI model states that it should be accessible to all. Currently, everybody pays and it is quite normal to pay €20,000 plus between clinics, treatments and so on.