Vol. 423 No. 2
90 Mr. Yates asked the Minister for Health if he will clarify when the provision of dentures will recommence for medical card holders in County Wexford; if, in view of the suspension of this scheme, he will make funds available to ensure that some patients are provided with dentures this year; and whether the situation for 1993 in the County Wexford area will be improved.
For the past few years my Department has made a special additional allocation available to the South Eastern Health Board specifically for the development of adult dental services for medical card holders. The special additional allocation provided in 1991 for this purpose was £285,000 and the South Eastern Health Board's original allocation for 1992 includes a repeat of this special provision for the continuing development of the adult dental services.
These special allocations will have enabled the board to provide approximately an additional 1,340 adult dental treatments in Wexford in 1991-92.
All the funds at my disposal for the provision of dental services in 1992 have been allocated. Funding for the provision of dental services in 1993 is under consideration in the context of the 1993 estimates.
