Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 146: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children if she plans to offer public orthodontic work to private contractors in an effort to reduce the waiting lists or to extend the national treatment purchase fund to cover this treatment. [23384/05]

Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)
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The Deputy's question regarding public orthodontic work relates to the management and delivery of health and personal social services, which are the responsibility of the Health Service Executive under the Health Act 2004. Accordingly, my Department has requested the parliamentary affairs division of the executive to arrange to have this matter investigated and to have a reply issued directly to the Deputy.

In June 2002, my Department provided additional funding of €5 million from the treatment purchase fund towards the treatment of persons on the orthodontic waiting lists. My Department instructed the health boards that the funding was to be allocated on the basis of the following principles: treatment of clients longest on the waiting list in accordance with the severity of their treatment need; allocation to provide additional treatments over and above what was provided in the normal way; efficiency and value for money; and equitable delivery across health board populations.

Children in treatment in the health board orthodontic service receive between 18 to 24 appointments over the course of their treatment period of approximately two years. The focus of the national treatment purchase fund is on the reduction in waiting times for those patients who have been waiting longest for admission for acute hospital treatment. It is not intended to extend the remit of the fund to deal with orthodontic waiting lists at this time.