Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

This phenomenon came to light when applications were submitted in bulk and in alphabetical order. In some cases, all of the forms were signed with the same signature. That may have been erroneously done by receptionists. When departmental officials conducted cross-checks within the system, they found that some of the customers who were anticipating getting treatment in the future were actually dead. When some of the people on the list were telephoned on foot of those spot-checks, they said they had not been to the dentist recently. In some cases, people who had not been to the dentist for a couple of years were on the list as having been approved for future treatment.

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