Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 17 Apr 2002

Vol. 552 No. 1

Written Answers. - Dental Services.

Ivor Callely

Ceist:

470 Mr. Callely asked the Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs the amount which was expended on the dental benefit scheme in 2001; the number of people who benefited under the scheme; the amount which was paid to dentists; and the amount of money which was received by each individual dentist under the dental treatment scheme. [10986/02]

Minister for Social, Community and Family Affairs (Mr. D. Ahern)

Treatment under my Department's dental benefit scheme for insured workers and their dependent spouses is provided by a panel of private practitioners who enter into contracts for that purpose. There are some 1,262 dentists on the Department's panel of whom 1,116 received payment in 2001. The payments in these cases amounted to €34.35 million in respect of treatment provided to 433,000 people who qualified for treatment under the scheme. This works out at an average payment of €30,780 per dentist. The level of payments to individual dentists under the scheme varies widely as shown in the following table:

Payment level(€)	Number of dentists	Percentage (%)
up to 10,000	240	20
10,000 to 40,000	532	50
40,000 to 60,000	236	21
60,000 to 90,000	82	7
90,000 to 190,000	26	2

Of the treatments carried out under the scheme, 46% were free of charge to the patient and 44% were subject to additional patient charges at fixed rates. These charges produced an additional €13 million in payments under the scheme. Of treatments, 10% were subject to additional patient charges which are not fixed. Apart from their incomes from my Department's dental benefit scheme, most dentists will also receive payments for the treatment of medical card patients under the dental treatment services scheme operated by the health boards. Total payments under that scheme amounted to €41 million last year paid to some 1200 dentists, which works out at an average payment per dentist of €34,000.

As private practitioners, dentists also undertake levels of treatment on a private basis for patients not covered by either of these schemes. The amounts paid under my Department's scheme to individual dentists for each dental practice in the year 2001 are shown in the table which has been forwarded to the Deputy. The amounts are shown in punts, the currency of payment.