Vol. 524 No. 5
402 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs if he will provide an estimate of the cost of extending dental benefit to the stay at home spouse of workers who do not pay a class A contribution; and if he would sympathetically consider the introduction of such a scheme. [23101/00]
Under the treatment benefits scheme administered by my Department, persons insured under the Social Welfare Acts and their dependent spouses can avail of benefit in respect of a certain range of dental, optical and aural services subject to satisfying certain contri bution conditions. The insured persons covered for these benefits are those who pay PRSI contributions at class A, E, H or P. A dependent spouse may qualify for benefits on the basis of his-her spouse's PRSI insurance record.
The extension of entitlement to dental benefit to the stay at home spouses along the lines proposed by the Deputy would lead to a demand for the extension of the benefit, in the first instance, to the insured persons not currently covered. It is tentatively estimated, based on the existing levels of take-up that the overall cost of such an extension would amount to almost £10 million per annum, of which over £1 million would relate to claims in respect of dependent spouses.
Any changes in the coverage of dental benefit would have financial implications and is a matter for consideration within the constraints of budgetary policy and the best targeting of available resources. While I have no specific proposals, at present, for extending the coverage of the dental benefit or other services under the treatment benefit scheme the operation of the scheme is subject to ongoing monitoring by my Department.
