Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 3 February 2022
423. Deputy Michael Creed asked the Minister for Health the reason for the delay in negotiations with an association (details supplied) with regard to a new dental scheme for medical card patients; the concessions he could make ahead of formal negotiations as a gesture of goodwill given the fact that fees under the scheme were set in 2010; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5572/22]
View answerI fully acknowledge the need to align the Dental Treatment Services Scheme (DTSS), which dates from the 1990s, with best international evidence and practice, as outlined in Smile agus Sláinte, the National Oral Health Policy, and I have given a commitment to the Irish Dental Association to begin substantive discussions by the second quarter of this year.
My immediate priority is to seek to address the current situation of medical card patients experiencing problems in accessing treatment. In that respect, officials from my Department and from the HSE have held two rounds of discussions with the IDA, the most recent on 17 December last when my Department and the HSE presented proposals to invest additional resources in the Dental Treatment Services Scheme, including €10m provided in the Budget, on top of the 2022 Estimate allocation of €56 million.
The Department / HSE has offered increased fees across a number of items and proposed the reintroduction of the Scale and Polish item. They also made it clear that these interim measures are designed to shore up the existing Scheme, pending the full root-and-branch review of the Scheme.
These proposals were expedited to address not only the problem of access for patients, but also concerns expressed by dentists about the viability of the DTSS, and to some extent, to bring about alignment with the Dental Treatment Benefits Scheme, which is widely operated by dentists for PRSI patients.
The Department is anxious to move the process on, in the interests of patients, and is hoping to meet the IDA again in the next couple of weeks to progress matters.
