Vol. 473 No. 3
80 Mr. N. Ahern asked the Minister for Health the dental facilities currently available for second-level school children; when the service will be extended to cover all pupils up to leaving certificate; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25193/96]
Limerick East): The Dental Health Action Plan provides for the extension of eligibility for dental services to children up to 16 years of age. I am implementing the action plan on a phased basis and eligibility for dental services has already been extended to children after they leave national school up to their 14th birthday.
Routine dental treatment will be provided by health boards to these children by extending the targeted approach which is currently used in the national schools. Children who have left national school will be recalled, as appropriate, screened and provided with appropriate preventive and primary care dental care treatment for any defects noted in the course of screening. These children will be provided with emergency treatment to relieve pain on demand. I have requested each health board to implement the extension as soon as possible having regard to the resources available to the boards.
In addition, emergency dental treatment for the relief of pain is currently available through the health board dental service to children aged 14 years of age and over who are dependants of medical card holders.
Under the dental treatment services scheme emergency dental treatment for the relief of pain is available to all medical card holders irrespective of age and eligible persons over the age of 16 years may attend any private dentist under contract with the health boards, if in pain and in need of emergency treatment. The second phase of the scheme was introduced from 1 June 1996 and involves the extension of the scheme to medical card holders in the 16 to 34 year old age group and the provision of full dentures to all edentulous medical card holders.
The question of a further extension will be considered in the context of the funds available to me for the development of dental services.
