Dr. Dympna Kavanagh:

My colleagues in social welfare have noted a significant upsurge in the take-up of contracts. Dr. Green rightly pointed out that there has been a change to the scheme in the past year.

Since the Department changed its scheme in the last year, the number of contracts now far surpasses the number it held before. The Department has also noted that many dentists who were previously entirely private and not on the medical card system are now opting to be on just the social welfare system. That is a challenge and it is why we are working so closely with our colleagues in the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection. There is quite a difference in the numbers taking up the social welfare contracts vis-à-visthe medical card contracts.