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THE COST OF visiting a doctor or dentist for treatment in Ireland has dropped in the past year.
That’s according to the second Avantis Global Health and Dental Price index, which shows that Irish health and dental charges dropped by between 3 and 10 per cent since spring 2011, with a small number of exceptions.
The survey also shows there is a variation of up to 70 per cent in some treatments, with some people able to save up to 50 per cent by travelling abroad to countries like Spain, Belgium and Germany for treatment.
Prices for common dental treatments in Ireland are down by 21 per cent in some cases, and cosmetic surgery procedures dropped by between 10 per cent.
Elective medical procedures also showed reductions of up to 16 per cent.
However, not all treatments are cheaper -the cost of laser eye surgery is up by 21 per cent and nose reconstruction surgery is 24 per cent more expensive.
Avantis Health Director, Orla Fahy, said that the figures show a modest reduction in health and dental prices overall, reflecting the challenging economic environment.
Irish patients can make significant savings on their health and dental care, by merely shopping around within Ireland, with substantial savings possible if they are willing to travel abroad for treatment.
For example, patients requiring a simple dental implant (with crown) can save over 75 per cent or €300 per crown by undergoing the treatment in Dublin as opposed to some other Irish cities in Connaught or Leinster. Patients requiring common but more invasive medical procedures, such as knee replacements, can make savings of 9 per cent or c.€1604 by traveling to Connaught from Leinster. A further 30 per cent saving can be achieved by engaging the services provided by Avantis Health and having the procedure in Spain.
Fahy added that savings in cosmetic surgery are also particularly evident as a breast augmentation procedure can cost 67 per cent or around €2000 less in Dublin than in other some other cities in Ireland.
Despite the cuts, Ireland remains one of the most expensive countries in Europe for health and dental treatments.
Tooth extraction
Laser Eye Surgery
Breast augmentation
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The one and only time that Kenny showed leadership, courage and backbone. Has been a complete disappointment ever since.
“One year on: What’s happened since Enda Kenny’s landmark Cloyne speech?”
Answer F**K ALL
I had great hopes for the Government when I heard that speech. I thought finally , we are getting somewhere.
More hot air from a flat deflated Taoiseach!
How can people take mr pr man seriously. He spoke those words only because people wanted to hear them at the time. But he knew like all politicians know the Irish quickly forget!
‘Dysfunctional,disconnected and elitist’ ? Does that not describe our government/insiders? Enda and Eamonn, your time is rapidly running out…
So let them be, who have had sex with children!
And turn Your rage on those who turned their eyes,
Intending to defend Your church with lies!
Nor were they ever fit for Your dominion!
These hypocrites are far worse than the poor
Polluted souls they moved from place to place,
Avid to avoid undue disgrace,
Trafficking in silence to be sure.
Remember them when You return! For they,
Instead of proper penance, yet remain
Cardinals, bishops, princes in Your name,
Knowing well what price they ought to pay!
English translation: Clerical paedophiles are bad, but so are their facilitators who protected them.
Conclusion: Poetry is a handy way to say something obvious in a way that make you sound intellectual.
In some ways, nothing happened – nothing much anyway. I’d love to see the catholic church kicked out of the country or at the very least hauled through the courts with the pope ultimately responsible being locked up. The church has had too much power in this country for way too long. Even if it was made an illegal organisation would be good. Pope JPII’s young people of Ireland, I love you statement can be seen in a different light now. Maybe when he kissed the ground at the airport he was really hoping to get it up the ass – should have Father Ted style.
That speech should be remembered for what it was, extremely populist and opportunistic. It was the perfect time for such a speech, but it was not as brave as people seem to think.
The church was once viewed as the pinnacle of the Irish system, a very powerful entity and the moral beacon to light the path. Roll on the years and its disgusting antics are displayed to the citizens and they rightly lose faith in it. The power of the church topples, its influence diminishes and its beacon fades.
At the same time the population are becoming aware that they have been mugged by their past political leaders, and indeed that the world at large may not be as we once conceived it to be.Election time comes round, the people are weary but angry and have had enough lies…In to power waltzes Enda and associates on the promise of change,truth, transparency etc.
There is a vacuum of moral leadership perceived to exist…without a beacon, how will we see the path?
Enda’s speech that day was effectively, an attempted coup by him to replace the church as the moral leader of the country with himself. Like a young up and coming fighter, giving the disgraced punch drunk old champion of yesteryear a beat down. He saw the crocked church, hit it his best shot and secured some popularity as the guy who stood up to the church. Lets not kid ourselves, he would not have attempted it back when the church was the champ!
P.S. I AM A FAN OF NEITHER.
I believe the time has come for contributors to be asked their affiliations to political parties. Looking at the posts on this story with two exceptions I see names and nom de plumes associated with Sinn Fein . This makes it unlikely that the Journal will ever be highly read and that’s a pity because it gives us so much with day and evening long support from the journalists.
Please clarify.. Are you trying to insinuate that if someone is associated with SF that makes them undesirable somehow?
Not only this, but that their presence in the comments section (which is fully open to any member of the public subject to the rules of the comments policy) will somehow affect the journals readership?
Where do we start? Guilt by association, circumstantial ad hominem,
Poisoning the well, it’s very poor logic, and it makes you look quite elitist / snobbish.
Would you be suggesting that an FF readership would damage the journal too, because you failed to mention that.. How about FG supporters? Labour?
I don’t find any of our political parties truly credible and as such have no party preference. I will vote based upon how well the individual councillor represents my views, and how good they are at their job. Which, according to “Common Sense” is what democracy is supposed to be all about.
I was having a gawk through the 2011 Party Leaders Allowance data from SIPO the last day. No surprise to see FG were the biggest spender on “Media Training” (€70,000) and “Consultancy fees including H.R., Media, I.T. & P.R. Management”. On top of that, remember Kenny intervening last yearto get Ciaran Conlon (his “media manager”) a €35,000 raise to €127,000 per year. All paid for by the public.
Remember, what you see and hear through the media is cleverly micromanaged by PR firms. Be swayed by actions, not words.
Meant to say: the figure for “Consultancy fees including H.R., Media, I.T. & P.R. Management” was €258,693.
The SIPO report can be found here: http://www.sipo.gov.ie/en/Reports/StateFinancing/FundingreceivedunderPartyLeadersLegislation/290512-ReportonExpenditureofthePartyLeadersAllowance2011/File,15730,en.pdf
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