Mr. Jim Breslin:

There are a couple of European schemes. The one the Deputy is probably asking about is the cross-border directive. That entitles one to go to another European country for a large number of treatments, but not for every type of treatment. One can get the cost of the treatment that would be borne in one's own country. One has to pay one's own way. One has to pay for flights and one has to pay upfront to the facility elsewhere but when one comes back, one can apply to the HSE for the cost of that treatment. If one went for a hip replacement or an eye procedure, one would get the price of the hip or the eye procedure in Ireland.