I propose to take Questions Nos. 16 and 35 together.
My Department pays fees to medical certifiers, who are mainly general practitioners, for the completion and issue of medical certificates for illness benefit and the completion of medical reports for various social welfare schemes. The fees are paid for the provision of medical opinion which is furnished on an official certificate or report form. Fees of €8.25 are paid per standard certificate and €44.44 for a more detailed medical report. These fees are paid in addition to whatever fees are charged by doctors for the clinical examination and treatment of patients. However doctors should not charge these patients an additional fee for the issue of a certificate/report.
In 2011 my Department issued payments to 2,915 medical certifiers in respect of some 3.4 million certificates and 77,000 medical reports. The total cost amounted to €31.7 million. My Department does not pay dentists or opticians for certificates. Dentists and opticians are paid under the treatment benefit scheme for dental and optical services.
In line with the announcement in Budget 2012 that the costs of funding medical fees is to be reduced by 10%, the Department is finalising its proposals in this regard, which will then be communicated to the doctors on the Department's panel of medical certifiers. The changes will not be the subject of negotiation with the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) as the Competition Authority has advised that it would be contrary to competition law to negotiate with representative bodies such as the IMO on the setting of fees for services provided by medical certifiers. However, as a matter of courtesy the Department will notify the IMO of any fee changes to be implemented in due course. The Department is reviewing its certification processes generally to establish if further savings can be effected.