Question from Deputy Ken O'Flynn - PQ 23917-26

To ask the Minister for Health whether any formal, written eligibility criteria exist governing the approval of funding under the treatment abroad scheme for procedures not available within the State, including gender-related surgical procedures; if such criteria exist, to provide the date of their introduction, the authority under which they were approved, and the body responsible for maintaining and updating them; and if no such criteria exist, whether she considers the absence of defined eligibility standards to be consistent with principles of public financial oversight and clinical governance.