Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 28 June 2022
886. Deputy Michael Ring asked the Minister for Health when he expects that a profession (details supplied) will start taking on new customers that are medical card holders; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34355/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Dental Treatment Services Scheme (DTSS) provides dental care free of charge to medical card holders aged 16 and over. Both 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. 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, which came into effect on 1st May, represents an estimated total additional investment of €26 million in the DTSS this year over and above what was spent on the Scheme in 2021, €40 million.
While it is a matter for each individual dentist to decide whether to accept new patients, I hope that this significant additional investment in the scheme will attract more dentists to treat medical card patients, including in Mayo. These measures are designed to address immediate concerns with the Scheme, pending a more substantive reform of dental services to align with the National Oral Health Policy.
I have been assured by the HSE that their local services on the ground will assist any persons who are still experiencing problems in accessing a service.
