Imelda Munster (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I raise the lack of dental care for medical card patients. I have raised this matter so often with this Government that it is deeply frustrating for me. I can only imagine how bad it is for patients affected. For almost two years now, patients with medical cards cannot access dental care. This includes patients who are seriously ill with diabetes and even with cancer.

To give an example, Drogheda, the largest town in Ireland, has not one single dentist treating patients with medical cards. That is replicated across the State. No matter how often the Minister states he is working to resolve this, there seems to be absolutely no urgency about it. The Irish Dental Association said recently that the previous time it had met with the Minister was in a Zoom meeting in 2021. At what stage do people have to wait for these services?

On top of that there are tens and tens of thousands of schoolchildren who have not even had their first routine check-up. It is shameful. When is this going to be resolved? Does the Minister have a date so that people can have access to proper dental health care?

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