John Moloney (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

I wish to respond on behalf of the Minister by stating that treatment benefits are paid to insured persons from the social insurance fund, SIF. Although the SIF has operated a surplus since 1996, this position began to change in 2008, when expenditure had to be partially funded from the accumulated surplus. Expenditure continued to exceed PRSI and investment income to the fund in 2009 and it is expected that the accumulated surplus will be completely exhausted in the first half of 2010.

It is further estimated that the Exchequer will be required to subvent the fund by more than €1 billion this year. The McCarthy report of the special group on public service numbers and expenditure programmes advised the Government that, given the other pressures on the social insurance fund, continuation of the treatment benefit scheme was no longer affordable. It is against this backdrop that the Government took the difficult decision to reduce expenditure on the scheme and changes were announced in budget 2010.

From 1 January 2010, people claiming under the optical and dental elements will receive a free examination. The medical appliances element of the scheme has not changed and hearing aids and contact lenses required for medical reasons will continue to be provided for on the same basis as before. This means that a grant of 50% of the purchase price, to a maximum of €760, is available towards the cost of an appliance or appliances under the scheme. People who, at 31 December 2009, were undergoing a course of dental or optical treatment or who had applied for approval to commence treatment, will have their applications processed under the rules which operated prior to 1 January 2010.

In the period between the budget announcement and the end of December 2009, more than 150,000 applications for approval in respect of dental treatments and more than 20,000 in respect of optical treatment were received from practitioners on behalf of the customers. These approval requests have been processed and notification issued to the dental and optical practices concerned. Treatments must commence within three months of approval being given and must be completed with six months of commencement.

Savings of €54 million were originally envisaged in 2010 and while the increased level of inquiries for treatment in the last few weeks of 2009 will have an impact on that figure, it still is anticipated that substantial savings will result in 2010. More than 2 million PRSI contributors still are eligible for the free dental and optical examination and medical appliance benefit in 2010. In 2009, more than 418,000 customers claimed a free dental examination at a cost of more than €14 million. In addition, 219,000 free eye examinations, at a cost of almost €5.5 million, also were provided. There also were 7,500 treatments under the medical appliance scheme, at a cost of more than €7.5 million. Similar level of applications can be expected this year. The continued provision of a free examination will allow people to continue to have regular optical and dental check-ups and help ensure the early detection of disease and other health issues.

The Department of Health and Children, under the medical card scheme, provides dental and optical services for customers on low incomes. The service is provided through the same group of contractors that supply services under the treatment benefit scheme. It should be noted that treatment benefits are just one of a range of pensions and benefits from which pay related social insurance, PRSI, contributors can benefit. Recent statements from some parties have suggested that employed people are paying up to €53 a week in social insurance and getting no benefit from it. On the contrary, the provision of a wide range of pensions, injury, unemployment and other benefits are and continue to be directly funded by PRSI contributions via the social insurance fund. The Government has indicated that it will review its decision on the treatments benefit scheme in advance of the next budget in the light of prevailing financial circumstances at that time.

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