Eoghan Kenny: Dental Scheme Failing Medical Cardholders
Eoghan Kenny addresses the Dáil about the failings of the Dental Treatment Service Scheme, arguing the scheme is leaving medical cardholders without access to dentists and forcing practitioners out. He gives a local case from Mallow and cites catchment data showing net losses of dentists in Cork North Central.
Eoghan Kenny sets out why the Dental Treatment Service Scheme is not working: patients with medical cards cannot get basic dental care and dentists are paid so little through the scheme that many are leaving. He describes a specific case in Mallow where a treatment costing €333 attracted only €109 from the HSE scheme.
Kenny explains the scheme fails two groups: vulnerable medical cardholders who cannot access treatment and the dentists who cannot make the scheme financially viable. He details the practical effort he makes ringing around dentists for constituents who need care.
Using North Leigh catchment figures for Cork North Central, Kenny highlights that 66 dentists left the scheme in five years while just over 20 joined, a net loss that he says should alarm the HSE and ministers responsible for health. He frames the problem as both a service failure and a socioeconomic issue that leaves vulnerable people behind.
Kenny urges immediate reform of the Dental Treatment Service Scheme so it delivers effective dentistry for all who rely on it and supports the professionals who provide care. He insists politicians must stop reiterating the problem and start fixing the system.
Problem outlined
Eoghan Kenny sets out why the Dental Treatment Service Scheme is not working: patients with medical cards cannot get basic dental care and dentists are paid so little through the scheme that many are leaving. He describes a specific case in Mallow where a treatment costing €333 attracted only €109 from the HSE scheme.
Impact on patients and dentists
Kenny explains the scheme fails two groups: vulnerable medical cardholders who cannot access treatment and the dentists who cannot make the scheme financially viable. He details the practical effort he makes ringing around dentists for constituents who need care.
Local data and wider consequences
Using North Leigh catchment figures for Cork North Central, Kenny highlights that 66 dentists left the scheme in five years while just over 20 joined, a net loss that he says should alarm the HSE and ministers responsible for health. He frames the problem as both a service failure and a socioeconomic issue that leaves vulnerable people behind.
Call for change
Kenny urges immediate reform of the Dental Treatment Service Scheme so it delivers effective dentistry for all who rely on it and supports the professionals who provide care. He insists politicians must stop reiterating the problem and start fixing the system.
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Transcript
Go raibh míle maith agus, Ceann Comhairle, Minister, I wish to raise on this very important Bill, Oisín Féin, the significant issue of the Dental Treatment Service Scheme. I spoke in the Dáil Chamber last year on this, with my colleague Deputy Sherlock as well, in relation to this scheme, and how this scheme is just simply not working. And the amount of people that come to constituency offices right across this country who tell us that they're medical cardholders and they can't get access to a dentist in their locality. It's just simply not acceptable, Minister, that if a person is a medical cardholder in this country, they can't get access to basic services like dentistry. And to be honest with you, the people who often take the blame for this are the dentists themselves. I spoke to a dentist practising in my town of Mallow today, and she told me that she had a medical cardholder who came to the dentist who was a patient of hers last week. The cost of the dental treatment was €333. She received €109 off the HSE through the service scheme. Why, if I was a dentist, would I stay in that scheme? I wouldn't. Because I'm not covering the basic costs. Because dentists themselves also have to live. So we're failing two cohorts of people here. We're failing the very dentists that we have in this country who are doing their best to provide the care needed in the country. And we're failing those who have medical cards also, who very much need the dentistry care. And every year, year on year, and I worked previously for former Deputy Sean Sherlock, who was TD in this House for 17 years, and year on year he would tell me about the significant issues that are being faced right across the constituencies in relation to those who cannot access dentistry. So if a constituent comes to me seeking my support in relation to accessing a dentist who will take them on as a medical cardholder, I have to ring around, and I do it because they're constituents of mine, ring around different dentists across the county to try and ask them, will they take on a medical cardholder? North Leigh catchment area, which covers my constituency of Cork North Central, 66 dentists have left the dental treatment service scheme in that catchment area in the last five years. Just over 20 have joined the scheme. So give or take about 40 dentists have left that scheme, Minister. That should speak wonders to deputies who are in charge of our health service. It should speak wonders to the HSE in relation to the system itself and the scheme that's being provided. It is simply not working. And it's unacceptable for us as politicians to stand here in this house and to speak on it year on year and speak on it from dull term to dull term without actually fixing the problem. We haven't fixed it. We have a system that's not working. We must change it for the benefit of the people across this country who rely on this care and for the very dentists who provide the care. It's a system that's not working and we must change it. It's as simple as that. We must provide effective dentistry care in this country for everybody. And there's a socioeconomic issue to this as well, Minister. Because people who are on medical cards might be those who are less off or less well off than those who can actually pay for dentistry care. All out cost of it. So there's a socioeconomic problem to this as well. So it's vulnerable people that are being left behind. We need to fix this dental treatment service scheme. It's not working. For more information visit www.fema.gov