John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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1054. To ask the Minister for Health to outline the dental services provided under the medical card scheme; if all dentists throughout the country have signed up to the scheme; to outline, where a medical card holder cannot get the services required, the options available to them; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2228/25]

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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The Dental Treatment Services Scheme (DTSS) provides oral healthcare, free of charge, to medical card holders aged 16 and over. Services available annually and on demand include an examination including preventative elements, two fillings, extractions, and a scale and polish. More complex care, such as dentures, additional fillings and a broader range of treatments for patients with additional needs and high-risk patients, are available subject to the approval of the local HSE Principal Dental Surgeon.

The HSE advises that at end-December 2024 there were 813 contractors signed up to the DTSS, including dentists and clinical dental technicians. While a package of measures introduced in 2022 to expand the care available under the Scheme and significantly increase the fees paid to contractors has improved access to care for patients, I am aware that there are some towns with no or limited DTSS dentists that have sufficient capacity to accept new patients. In these areas, local HSE services can assist patients to access a dentist. In exceptional circumstances, where emergency treatment is required, the HSE can directly contact private contractors or arrange treatment to be provided by HSE-employed dentists.

In the longer term, the Government is committed to reforming dental services, including the DTSS, through the implementation of the National Oral Health Policy (NOHP), Smile Agus Sláinte and has included implementation of the Policy in the Programme for Government. The implementation plan for the first phase of policy implementation, to end-2027, is currently being finalised by my Department and the HSE, and includes reform of services for medical card holders as one of several priority actions.