Willie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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44. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection the benefits that have been withdrawn under the treatment benefits package since 2010; the savings made as a result of each measure; the full-year cost in 2016 of restoring each of the benefits, based on the contracts agreed with dental and medical practitioners at the time they were withdrawn, and based on a 5%, 10%, and 15% increase on the rates agreed at that time; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1624/16]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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The dental and optical benefit schemes were restricted to a free annual dental exam and a free two yearly optical examination from January 2010. The cost (in €millions) for the last 6 years for the two schemes and for 2009, the last year the schemes operated unrestricted, are set out in the table below:

(These figures represent payments for claims paid by the Department only, and do not include the annual reimbursements to the HSE in respect of dual-qualified customers.)

The cost of the dental and optical schemes in the period 2010-2015 was €97.3 million. Based on the 2009 application numbers and fees payable (and assuming no increase in those figures between 2010 and 2015) this represents an estimated saving of €378.5 million over this 6 year period.

The potential cost of restoring the scheme in 2016 to its 2009 format (assuming the same level of customer applications as in 2009), would be as set out in the following table, allowing for the potential % increase in fees as suggested by the Deputy (shown in €millions):

These figures represent the potential cost of the schemes (based on 2009 application levels), including examinations, which have continued to be provided to customers and for which the fee payable has not increased since 2009. While the increases suggested by the Deputy have been applied in the table of costings above, it should be noted that it is not proposed to increase fees at this time. For a more accurate estimate of the net cost of restoring the suspended treatments/entitlements only, the current cost of the dental and optical examinations (€14.3 million in 2015) should be subtracted from the relevant figure in the table.