Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for allowing me the opportunity. The oral health of many thousands of people in the State is under threat because medical cards are not accepted by many of those working in the dental profession. This is not an attack or a slight on our great dentists, who provide an invaluable service, not least in County Kerry. It is the exact opposite: it is to support them. Quite simply, dentists are finding it extremely difficult to run their businesses because of ever-increasing costs on them and because the money that being reimbursed to them by the HSE is not adequate when it comes to dealing with services for medical card holders. A medical card holder is every bit as entitled to receive a proper service as a person who has private health insurance or has enough money in his or her pocket to pay for taking care of his or her teeth.

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