Reilly: Review underway into cost of medical treatments

Health Minister Dr James Reilly has said that it is not good enough for Irish consumers to have to pay over the odds for some medical procedures.

A new cost-comparison survey has found that savings of up to 70% can be made, if you travel abroad for medical treatment.

The study by Avantis Healthcare shows that the UK and mainland Europe are cheaper for a range of procedures such as dental care, eyecare and cosmetic surgery.

Minister Reilly said a review is underway into the cost-base of medical treatments here.

"There are procedures for cataracts that used to take hours and were very technically difficult which are much simpler now, and we are still paying large sums of money," he said.

"We need to look at all of these services… to see how we can make them more efficient and how we can get better value for the taxpayer, and we are fully committed to doing that."