Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Question 216: To ask the Minister for Social Protection her views on the possibility of reinstating the scale and polish treatments formerly available to PRSI contributors under the dental treatment benefit scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29672/11]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The dental benefit scheme is paid from the Social Insurance Fund (SIF). Due to the current economic conditions, the SIF remains under substantial pressure and as part of a range of cost-saving measures intended to ease this pressure, the range of treatments available under the scheme was reduced in Budget 2010.

The free examination remains available to qualifying customers to encourage them to continue attending for regular check-ups and to assist in the early detection of dental-related health issues. Future consideration of any changes to the scheme, including the re-instatement of the free scale and polish, will have to reflect the economic realities of available funding and competing priorities.

Niall Collins (Limerick, Fianna Fail)
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Question 217: To ask the Minister for Social Protection when a redundancy claim will be paid in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Tipperary; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29732/11]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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There is no claim for a statutory redundancy lump sum payment registered for the person in question in redundancy section. This may be due to the fact that the application was not registered as a result of incompleteness or because financial information from the person's former employer was not presented with the form RP50.