Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Government and I have been concerned for some time that medical card patients in some parts of the country have been experiencing problems in accessing dental services. The problem became particularly acute over the last couple of years as a significant number of contracted dentists chose to opt out of the DTSS. I secured an additional €10 million in budget 2022 to invest in the scheme. That is a combination of an increase in fees and the reintroduction of scale and polish.

To address the concerns of contractors about the viability of the scheme, I have also used approximately €16 million of an underspend in this year’s Estimate to increase the fees as well. Essentially, the spend on the DTSS last year was approximately €40 million and this year we are allocating €66 million. It is an additional €10 million and an allocation of a projected underspend of €10 million to an increase in fees. It is a very significant projected increase in the DTSS this year. Following consultation with the Irish Dental Association, the measures came into effect from 1 May. I am happy to talk through the increases if that is useful.

I hope this substantial investment and significant increase in the fees will encourage more dentists to stay in the scheme and, indeed, encourage dentists to return to it. However, that is not enough. These are interim measures. What is required is a root-and-branch reform of the scheme. The scheme was put in place many years ago and it is not fit for purpose now. This year, the Department, the HSE and the IDA will be involved in a fundamental review of the scheme to look at a scheme that is fit for purpose for today and into the future.

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