The Consumers Association of Ireland fears those now looking for procedures will opt for a trip to mainland Europe, where cosmetic surgery is cheaper

Ireland's leading cosmetic-surgery loan service has gone into liquidation amid reports of a lack of interest from consumers.

Easycare Credit, previously based in Stillorgan, provided loans for various procedures, from laser eye surgery to breast augmentation.

This stands in stark contrast to four years ago, when the company said it was lending up to €200,000 a week for cosmetic procedures.

The average loan by the company was €5,500 over three years, which required repayments of €176 a month.

At least a dozen Irish clinics used Easycare Credit to obtain loans for their customers. A spokeswoman for Eye Laser Ireland, which availed of the financial service, said it had "just cleared out all the literature relating to the company, as a lack of interest led to problems for Easycare".

Cosmetic-surgery provider The Hospital Group said that as it no longer uses the company, customers who wish to get a loan must now try to approach their bank instead.

Despite this, cosmetic surgery remains a thriving market in Ireland – The Hospital Group recently announced a yearly turnover of €3.5m.

Of this amount, €1m was spent exclusively on obesity surgery.

"Despite the downturn, demand for our procedures remains high. However, the difficulty for customers now is how they finance it. Consumers will now instead save for whatever procedure they wish to get but at the end of the day it is still something they have their hearts set on, and eventually will get," said Aisling Holly, managing director of The Hospital Group.

It is estimated that almost 400,000 cosmetic procedures are carried out every year in Ireland.

The Consumers Association of Ireland now fears that those looking for procedures will opt instead for a trip to mainland Europe, where prices are considerably cheaper.

For example, rhinoplasty costs approximately €3,514 in clinics in Prague, whereas the same operation in Dublin would set a consumer back to the tune of €5,500 onwards.

People can have breast reductions, done in Wroclaw in Poland from as little as €2,480, while the same is priced in the region of €7,300 in Ireland.

Easycare was not available for comment.