Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats)
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809. To ask the Minister for Health if he will consider an independent chair for the discussions between the HSE and an association (details supplied) in reforming the dental treatment services scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9755/22]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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Officials from my Department and from the HSE have held two rounds of discussions with the IDA, the most recent on 17 December last when my Department and the HSE presented proposals to invest additional resources in the Dental Treatment Services Scheme, including €10m provided in the Budget, on top of the 2022 Estimate allocation of €56 million.

The Department / HSE has offered increased fees across a number of items and proposed the reintroduction of the Scale and Polish item.

These proposals were expedited to address not only the problem of access for patients, but also concerns expressed by dentists about the viability of the DTSS, and to some extent, to bring about alignment with the Dental Treatment Benefits Scheme, which is widely operated by dentists for PRSI patients.

I have instructed my officials to arrange a further engagement with the Irish Dental Association to progress solutions.