Colm Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

On the issue of people going abroad for medical treatment, my understanding, and I cross-checked this before asking the question, is that if someone is a VHI patient they can go to the UK and get treatment if the treatment is not available here. Is there a need to contact our insurers to see if they have given cover for treatments abroad where the treatment abroad fund would not have been aware of that? That is why I believe the figure of 24 for inpatients is very low and I do not believe it is a true reflection of the actual numbers.