Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 2 June 2022
398. Deputy Seán Canney asked the Minister for Health if his attention has been drawn to the lack of dentists who are available to treat patients who have medical cards; if he will ensure that sufficient resources are put in place to rectify this issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28781/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraBoth I and the Government have been concerned for some time that medical card patients in some parts of the country have been experiencing problems in accessing dental services. The problem became particularly acute over the last couple of years as a significant number of contracted dentists chose to opt out of the DTSS.
I secured an additional €10 million in Budget 2022 to provide for expanded dental health care for medical card holders including the reintroduction of Scale and Polish. To address the concerns of contractors about the viability of the Scheme, I am also using an estimated €16 million of an underspend in this year’s estimate allocation (€56 million) to award fee increases across a number of items including fillings and restorations.
The combination of these two measures represents an estimated total additional investment of €26 million in the Scheme this year over and above what was spent on the Scheme in 2021, €40 million. Following consultation with the Irish Dental Association, these new measures came into effect on 1st May. I would hope that this substantial additional investment in the Scheme will encourage more and more dentists to provide care to medical card patients.
I understand that contractors are looking for more substantive reform of the Scheme and that is my intention. These measures that I have announced are interim measures, designed to address immediate concerns with the Scheme, pending a more substantive reform of dental services to align with the National Oral Health Policy.
Work on that longer-term project has already commenced and I have asked my officials and the HSE to undertake further engagement with all dental stakeholders in implementing necessary reforms.
