A cosmetic surgery clinic at the centre of the breast implant scandal was severely criticised yesterday for refusing to appear before the Joint Committee on Health and Children.

The Harley Medical Group will be pursued for any money spent by the State in providing consultations and treatment to women fitted with faulty breast implants, Health Minister Dr James Reilly has confirmed.

Taxpayers could face a bill of over €3m for the removal of faulty breast implants because a cosmetic surgery clinic who fitted them is not providing the care needed.

Women fitted with faulty silicone breast implants who need them removed will have the cost covered by the State.

Women who paid for defective breast implants by credit card may have a chance of getting their money back, it has emerged.

A cosmetic surgery firm that fitted 1,100 Irish women with below-grade silicone breast implants, generated millions in revenues from surgeries in the three years to the end of 2010, new figures show.

There was growing pressure on the Harley Medical Group last night to agree a deal on the removal and replacement of PIP breast implants from the 1,100 women affected by the defective products.

Representatives from the PIP Action Group say they have had a "very positive" meeting with the state's Chief Medical Officer Dr Tony Holohan.

The three private hospital groups who fitted faulty breast implants in Irish women are to be hauled before the Oireachtas Health Committee to explain their response to the crisis.

The country’s Chief Medical Officer has vowed to ensure the fallout from faulty silicone breast implants affecting at least 1,500 women costs the taxpayer nothing.

Private clinics which offered PIP breast implants in Ireland “can do what they want” because they are not regulated, the country’s medicines watchdog has said.

The chief executive of the Irish Medicines Board, Pat O'Mahony, has today criticised the lack of regulation in the area of cosmetic surgery in Ireland after it emerged that around 1,550 women in Ireland have been fitted with the controversial PIP breast implants.

A mother of one said she was told she deserved cancer after she revealed that she was one of the women fitted with the breast implants that sparked a global health scare.

ARE MEN more body conscious now than they were 10 years ago?

UP TO 878 women who had PIP breast implants have been told that the Harley Medical Group will not remove them free of charge unless they have a rupture.

THE Irish Medicines Board (IMB) has claimed that the Harley Medical Group misinformed them on two separate occasions concerning the recent breast implants scare.

The Irish Medicines Board (IMB) has today claimed that it was misinformed by the Harley Medical Group about how it dealt with the issue of faulty breast implants.

THE Irish Medicines Board (IMB) has confirmed that a small number of Irishwomen have had problems with the breast implants at the centre of a health scare in France.

IMAGINE looking like a woman in her forties — but with a brain that’s almost a century old. Visualise the trauma of losing an arm in an accident — but then simply growing a new one.

A leading Dublin clinic has said an increasing number of new mothers are opting for cosmetic surgery.

BELT-tightening is never easy to swallow but it’s becoming more palatable for the growing number of figure-conscious Irish men who are opting for tummy tucks.

Women are to be offered "natural breast enlargements" using unwanted fat from other parts of their bodies, it was announced today.

GRIM news on the economic front is prompting Irish people to trim, tighten, nip and tuck with zeal.

An advert for breast surgery was today rapped for promoting the operation as “easy”.

MORE women than ever are having breast enlargements but are opting for smaller implants, new research shows.

WOMEN who get cosmetic breast implants are nearly three times as likely to commit suicide as other women, research has found.

WORKERS have found a new way of beating the Monday morning blues — cheering themselves up by checking out cosmetic treatments on the internet.

WOMEN who want to look younger for longer can save a staggering 70% on a facelift — if they are prepared to travel for their surgery.

IN an article in Thursday’s Irish Examiner we quoted the Harley Medical Group’s prices for collagen injections as €600 for a full syringe and €350 for a half-syringe.

DEMAND for cosmetic surgery has surged by 250% in the run-up to Christmas as Irish people are increasingly giving gifts of collagen, restylane and botox treatment for the festive season.

A leading cosmetic surgery group is launching a loyalty card scheme to reward its most frequent customers with free treatments.

ALL breast implants sold in Ireland will undergo more rigorous tests following safety concerns.