Vol. 419 No. 2
3 Mr. Connaughton asked the Minister for Social Welfare if he has made arrangements with the Irish Dental Association to provide a worthwhile dental care programme for insured workers and their spouses, and if he will outline details of the scheme.
29 Mr. Sherlock asked the Minister for Social Welfare the latest position regarding the dispute with the Irish Dental Association regarding the provision of dental treatment for the spouses of insured workers; if he has met the association to discuss the dispute; if so, if he will outline the outcome of any such discussions, and if he will make a statement on the matter.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 3 and 29 together.
As I have already informed the House, I am optimistic that my Department's dispute with the Irish Dental Association will soon be ended and that dependent spouses of qualified insured persons will again be treated by all dentists participating in the dental benefit scheme.
I have not yet met with the Irish Dental Association but discussions at official level with the association have been continuing for some time. The outcome of these discussions is that a formal offer of settlement proposals has been made to the association which I am confident will be accepted by the membership. The settlement proposals will shortly be balloted on by the members and, if accepted, will be implemented from the beginning of July next. Unfortunately, a delay in the ballot has occurred due to the current postal dispute.
The main elements of the settlement proposals comprise the introduction of a new contract for dentists participating in the scheme and a revised schedule of fees for dental treatment provided under the scheme. The new dental contract is designed to more adequately reflect modern dental practices and includes mechanisms for improved consultation with the dental profession and improved monitoring of standards which will ultimately lead to a better quality of service for the patient. The revised schedule of fees for treatment carried out under the scheme will give participating dentists a fair and economic return for their professional services.
Our approach in seeking a resolution of this long-running dispute has been to provide participating dentists with a modern dental benefit scheme in terms of dental practices and professional fees and, at the same time, to ensure that a high level of basic dental treatment is available to qualified insured persons and their dependent spouses. I am satisfied that the new arrangements effective, hopefully, from next July will meet those objectives.
I thank the Minister for the reply, but I have heard a similar response on several occasions. It was very pedestrian indeed. Only about two months ago the Minister indicated something similar in the debate on the Social Welfare Bill. It does not seem to have progressed. Is the Minister aware of the frustration and anger about this scheme, particularly among women? They have been conned so often in the past. They never seem to be able to draw on this dental benefit scheme for one reason or another. It will take more than a toothbrush on this occasion to satisfy the people concerned. When we were discussing the Social Welfare Bill we referred to the £25,000 cut-off point and I understood the Minister was to bring in regulations which would give some indication of how blunt an instrument that will be. What has the Minister decided? Can he give an exact date of when all this is to happen? Does the Minister think all dentists will become involved in the scheme?
When I gave the information in the debate on the Social Welfare Bill, the Irish Dental Association had the details of the offer and were arranging to ballot their members on it. They held meetings to brief their members and then balloted them informally. The delay has not been on my side but on the side of the Irish Dental Association. The current reason for the delay is the postal dispute. It was always intended, if the offer was accepted, that it would apply from July 1992. That remains the position. As Deputy Connaughton, and others, are aware the cut-off point of £25,000 was referred to in the debate on the Social Welfare Bill. The regulations will not be implemented until we get the formal result from the Irish Dental Association. With regard to the £25,000 income limit, I recognise that a crude cut-off would discriminate against a single income family as against a double income family. The Deputy can take it that there will be some recognition of that in the regulations. If everything goes according to plan this will operate from July.
