Vol. 554 No. 5
1668 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if persons (details supplied) in County Kildare can be reimbursed for contributions paid through employment for dental benefit to enable them seek private orthodontic treatment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [15828/02]
1677 Mr. Crowe asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the number of dentists currently available to PAYE taxpayers under State contracts to residents living in the Dublin south west constituency. [16003/02]
1678 Mr. Crowe asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the way in which the dispute between her Department and the Irish Dental Association is affecting hard pressed PAYE taxpayers who qualify through PRSI for this service; the current waiting time for patients waiting for dental treatment; the steps she is taking to resolve this dispute; and if compensation will be given to those persons forced to use dentists other than ones on State contract as a result of the dispute. [16004/02]
1681 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the amount of money saved to date by the Government following the dispute regarding PRSI dental treatment from the date the dispute started. [16033/02]
1689 Ms O. Mitchell asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if insured persons receiving dental care during the current dispute will be reimbursed for additional costs incurred by them; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16159/02]
1694 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if the dispute with the Irish Dental Association regarding charges for people claiming dental benefit has been resolved. [16226/02]
1723 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for Social and Family Affairs if she will agree to refund to individual subscribers the value of the existing dental fee paid by her Department for different procedures, in order that at least the public can continue to get access to treatment while, at worst, paying a top-up fee to the dentist. [16979/02]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 1668, 1677, 1678, 1681, 1689, 1694 and 1723 together.
To benefit under the dental benefit scheme, insured persons must be treated by a dentist who has contracted to provide dental services. It is open to any dentist who wishes to participate in this scheme. The contract requires the dentist to provide a range of treatments at agreed prices. My Department pays the dentist directly at the contract price for the treatments provided.
Oral examination, scaling and polishing are free of charge to the patient under the scheme. The fee the dentist may charge for other treatments, with very limited exceptions, is fixed in the contract. The scheme does not cover orthodontic treatments.
Participating dentists agree to treat patients at the contract fee and not to impose charges on patients over the above what the contract allows. This is an essential feature of the scheme and a change involving subsidies to patients and open ended charges for all treatments would fundamentally change the nature of the scheme.
The present dispute arose due to the unilateral imposition of increased charges on an open ended basis and in breach of the contractual arrangements for the provision of dental benefit. My Department has advised insured workers through the newspapers to check that their dentist is not imposing increased charges prior to starting treatment. Patients undertaking treatment with dentists engaged in this dispute are doing so outside the scope of the dental benefit scheme and the costs they incur in the circumstances cannot be recouped. Patients have been advised that, where dentists offer to treat people as private patients, this is outside the terms of the dental benefit scheme. Therefore, my Department will not be in a position to refund any costs arising.
