Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 9 Oct 2002

Vol. 554 No. 5

Written Answers. - Dental Service.

Michael Ring

Ceist:

1011 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Health and Children the reason the free dental service for children aged 12 to 16 years in the Western Health Board area has been suspended; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15888/02]

Michael Ring

Ceist:

1012 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Health and Children if free dental service is still available in all health board regions and authority areas for children aged from 12 to 16 years, whose parents hold medical cards. [15889/02]

Denis Naughten

Ceist:

1040 Mr. Naughten asked the Minister for Health and Children if he will address the current anomaly in the dental care schemes whereby a child between the age of 13 and 16 is not eligible for free dental treatment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16015/02]

Michael Ring

Ceist:

1065 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Health and Children if there are dental services available for children aged between 12 and 16 years in the Western Health Board region. [16209/02]

Minister for Health and Children (Mr. Martin):

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1011, 1012, 1040 and 1065 together.

As the Deputy is aware, statutory responsibility for the provision of dental treatment to eligible persons rests with the health boards in the first instance. All health boards, including the Western Health Board, have adopted a planned targeted approach to the delivery of dental services to national school children. This is to ensure the optimum use of dental resources and equal access for all national school children to the same level of dental care.

Under the Health Act, 1970, and the Health (Dental Services for Children) Regulation, 2000, children who have attended national school retain eligibility for dental treatment up to their 16th birthday. In 2000, my Department provided additional funding of €3.935 million for this extension of eligibility for the children's dental services. An additional €1.07 million has been provided to the Eastern Regional Health Authority for the recruitment of extra dental teams to provide dental treatment to children up to their 16th birthday.

Treatment is provided within the resources available to health boards and the chief executive officer of the Western Health Board, WHB, has informed me that an emergency dental service for relief of pain to the 12 to 16 year old cohort is available on demand. The chief executive officer has further informed me that partnerships with private general dental practitioners for the provision of authorised primary dental treatments to this cohort have been established. These arrangements are a temporary measure pending the appointment of salaried dental staff by the board.