Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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3158. To ask the Minister for Health to provide details of the plan to deal with the lack of dental services for those on medical cards and PRSI patients; the engagement she has had with an organisation (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43500/25]

Joe Cooney (Clare, Fine Gael)
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3162. To ask the Minister for Health the steps she is taking to address the shortage of dentists that will accept medical card holders in County Clare given there are only five DTSS contracted dental practitioners in the county and none of whom have capacity; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43600/25]

Colm Burke (Cork North-Central, Fine Gael)
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3234. To ask the Minister for Health the measures being taken to increase the number of dentists who treat medical card patients, given that only 833 dentists are operating under the dental treatment services scheme, down from 1,425 over a period of 12 years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44015/25]

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 3158, 3162 and 3234 together.

The Dental Treatment Services Scheme (DTSS) provides dental care, 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 additional fillings, dentures, 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.

On foot of a meeting between the Department and the Irish Dental Association (IDA) in November 2020, officials in my Department engaged with the IDA to discuss and agree a package of measures introduced from 1 May 2022 to introduce and reintroduce elements of preventative care and increase the fees paid to dentists for most treatment items by 40 to 60%. Fees paid to dentists for DTSS care are now aligned with other European countries which provide comparable public dental care, noting that many European countries, especially in the southern and eastern regions, don’t have any scheme in place for adults which is free at point of access.

These measures are having an impact, with access to care continuing to increase each year since they were introduced. In 2024, over 227,000 additional treatments were provided under the DTSS, supporting over 44,000 extra patients compared with 2022. Activity has continued to increase further into this year – preliminary data from the first half of this year indicates an additional almost 3,000 patients have been treated compared to the same period in 2024.

In the longer term, the Government is committed to reforming oral healthcare services, including the DTSS, through the implementation of the service reforms set out in the National Oral Health Policy (NOHP), Smile Agus Sláinte. The Policy also contains a range of strategic workforce planning actions to increase national workforce capacity, in support of improving patient access to care. The Programme for Government contains commitments to implement the National Oral Health Policy, reform oral healthcare services for medical card holders and address workforce capacity.

The implementation plan for the 2025-2027 phase of the Policy is currently being finalised by my Department and the HSE. Targeted stakeholder consultation on a draft of the plan was held, including with the IDA, in Q3 last year. The plan includes reform of services for adult medical card holders among the initial priorities.

As part of ongoing engagement with the IDA, officials from my Department also met with IDA representatives in January 2024 to discuss policy implementation and in April 2024 to facilitate the IDA to present its position paper. I met the IDA in March this year to discuss the reform of oral healthcare services through implementation of the Policy.

The Treatment Benefit Scheme funded by PRSI contributions to the Social Insurance Fund is under the remit of the Minister for Social Protection.