By Carl O'Brien, Political Reporter
AN English surgeon has offered to carry out sex change operations for up to 500 Irish patients who cannot get the procedure done here. Dr Tim Terry, a consultant urologist, has offered his services to Irish health authorities to clear a backlog of patients who want to get the operation.

A spokesperson for the Department of Health said they were informed of the offer and it will be examined if there is a demand for it. "If it can be done here and the health boards are willing to pay for the operations, we'll have to look at it, yes," a department spokesperson said.

Ireland continues to ignore a 10-year-old Council of Europe resolution on transsexuals by not recognising their condition as a medical one.

Sex change operations are funded by the NHS in some parts of Britain, while Irish health boards have traditionally refused to pay for the operation.

However, last week the Southern Health Board finally agreed to pay for a sex change taken by a Cork woman.

Diane Hughes, 43, who lives in Macroom, Co Cork, with her partner Caroline and son Gareth, yesterday urged Irish health authorities to take up the offer.

"We're cutting our own throats by not accepting the reality of what's happening. The health board's response has been the first positive move we've seen. It's time for them to look favourably on others now," she said.

Campaigners say Gender Identity Disorder is a largely hidden condition, but comparisons with Holland suggest there are around 500 transsexuals living in Ireland.

A Cork-based GP, who has counselled 22 patients from around the country, has warned that denying treatment can have tragic results.

Half of all transsexuals die from suicide or self mutilation because they are denied the chance to change their anatomy to match their gender identity, according to international figures. The Southern Health Board's move last week to pay for a sex change operation is interpreted by observers as a softening in its approach.

However, under a landmark European Court of Justice ruling last month the Government may be forced to provide sex change operations here anyway or pay for patients to go abroad. According to the professor of legal medicine at UCD, Denis Cusack, the ruling means governments should pay for their citizens' medical treatment abroad if there is undue delay in providing it at home.