Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

With respect, I do not think the Minister gets it that the medical card scheme seems to be collapsing. The information we are getting is that more and more dentists are leaving the scheme every day. The fact that there is no additional funding for it means the morale of dentists who are in the public system is rock bottom. That is what we are told by those who work in the system. There is clearly a problem there. It is so important. Oral healthcare affects the whole body in the context of a person's health and I do not think it is given importance as an issue.