Ms Catherine Donohoe:

Deputy Burke is absolutely correct. We come across that situation not often but regularly. That is probably the biggest advantage to the cross-border directive because the patient does not require a consultant to sign off on a referral like the treatment abroad scheme does. He is correct in what he says about the cross-border directive. It refers to the EU and the EEA. If a patient has a GP referral, he or she can use it to access healthcare under the cross-border directive. They do not require prior authorisation or notification. With their properly executed GP referral they can simply opt to access healthcare in another country in the EU or the EEA.