Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 26 July 2022
1807. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Health the estimated cost of extending free optical and ophthalmic care to all children in Ireland; his plans to extend free optical and ophthalmic care to all children in Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40556/22]
View answerOptometric and ophthalmic practitioners receive remuneration at a range of different pay scales from the HSE for a wide range of services provided. It is not possible to definitively calculate the cost of extending free optical and ophthalmic care for children given the wide range of payments and variables that must be accounted for.
Such a calculation would require a complex and detailed modelling exercise to account for a range of demographic changes, future projections of service demands and variation in the number of practitioners and the allowances that could be paid. The HSE has not examined extending free optical and ophthalmic care to all children and as such an estimate of the cost of doing so is not available.
