Carol Nolan: Calls for Action on Dental System Collapse
Carol Nolan raises urgent concerns about the collapse of dental services for medical card patients and the lack of timely assessments for schoolchildren. She asked the Minister to intervene to secure a renewed contract and a targeted plan for long waiters and children.
What Carol Nolan said: Carol Nolan told the Dail that dental services have regressed, noting that school dental assessments that were routine in the 1980s are no longer happening and that PRSI and medical card patients have lost benefits. She pressed the Minister to push the HSE and the Department of Health to renew the contract and reform the system.
Minister's response: The Minister replied that he has already intervened with the HSE and that a dental-specific plan will be produced, including a two-year intervention programme focused on long waiters and children. He also referenced negotiations with representative bodies and a reported 40% increase in medical card fees that has not resolved capacity issues.
System pressures and capacity: The exchange highlighted broader capacity pressures, including dentists expanding into aesthetics and private practice choices that may reduce public-service availability. The Irish Dental Association and other representative bodies have called for contract renewal and reform.
Next steps and consequences: The Dail exchange frames a short-term programme for children and long waiters alongside calls for a renewed contract. The outcome will determine whether timely school assessments and medical-card dental care can be restored for families under pressure.
What Carol Nolan said: Carol Nolan told the Dail that dental services have regressed, noting that school dental assessments that were routine in the 1980s are no longer happening and that PRSI and medical card patients have lost benefits. She pressed the Minister to push the HSE and the Department of Health to renew the contract and reform the system.
Minister's response: The Minister replied that he has already intervened with the HSE and that a dental-specific plan will be produced, including a two-year intervention programme focused on long waiters and children. He also referenced negotiations with representative bodies and a reported 40% increase in medical card fees that has not resolved capacity issues.
System pressures and capacity: The exchange highlighted broader capacity pressures, including dentists expanding into aesthetics and private practice choices that may reduce public-service availability. The Irish Dental Association and other representative bodies have called for contract renewal and reform.
Next steps and consequences: The Dail exchange frames a short-term programme for children and long waiters alongside calls for a renewed contract. The outcome will determine whether timely school assessments and medical-card dental care can be restored for families under pressure.
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Transcript
Sorry I wish to raise serious concerns again about the dental system and the total collapse in terms of dental services for medical card patients but also the lack of timely assessments for school-going children and I and others have noticed that this has really regressed. I mean in the 1980s as school children we all had those timely assessments but we seem to be going backways it's getting no better and even PRSI patients they've had a number of benefits that they would have got in the past eliminated also so I think there's a number of issues in terms of dental care and I know the Irish Dental Association has been calling now for some time for the contract to be renewed and for an entire reform of the system because they're very frustrated with the HSE and the Department of Health as well so my question Minister is will you please intervene with the HSE and the Department of Health to ensure that we can get a renewed contract in place as soon as possible? Thank you Deputy and indeed I have already intervened with the HSE on two fronts and we will be producing a dental specific plan specifically important to reference what you said about long waiters and particularly for children on a specific intervention program which will last about two years. The IDA and the Irish Dental Association have been involved in that but let us not give the speaking points of private representative bodies either. I was at their conference and raised this with them the increase in fee have the increase in fee for medical cards has been increased by 40% and yet people still don't want to do it. I do have to acknowledge that dentists as part of their conference had two days one on dentistry and one on aesthetics and I challenged the Dentist Association to that and they robustly defended the ability of dentists to do Botox and other things as part of as part of their choices how they practice. I do have to highlight all of these different things to say that yes we do need to have a new contract anyway yes we need to continue to make sure that this is we have a structured program particularly for children but it is also true that there is not just dentistry happening and that that is reducing capacity. Deputy Grace Boland