Mattie McGrath: Irish Dental Scheme in Crisis, Dentists Leaving
Mattie McGrath warned that the public dental scheme is in crisis as dentists leave and families struggle to access care, calling for a modern contract and urgent action. He criticised an outdated contract and said many dentists are abandoning the scheme, forcing medical card patients to travel or go without treatment.
Speaker's concerns
McGrath argued that the Irish dental sector is in crisis, saying many dentists have left because the contract has not been updated for years. He saluted dentists for their work and said they need a modern contract that reflects the services and facilities they provide.
Impact on patients and access
He described families unable to get appointments, with some forced to travel long distances - "maybe 100 miles away" - or to go into private practice or abroad. He warned that medical card holders are being left without access to dental treatment and that the situation risks larger costs to the state in the future.
Scale of the problem and scheme numbers
In reply a minister acknowledged problems with the DTSS - the medical card scheme for dental services - noting about 1,150 dentists are in the scheme and roughly 300 have left in recent times. The minister confirmed that 56 million euros goes into the scheme every year.
Negotiations and funding on the table
The minister said negotiations are underway between the HSE Department of Health and the Irish Dental Association and that 10 million euros is currently on the table as part of an offer under discussion. Both McGrath's remarks and the minister's response focused on the need for action to stabilise dentist participation and restore access for medical card patients.
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The Irish Dintal Association is in crisis and many, many dozens of dintas have left the scheme because the contract hasn't been updated for years. Families are struggling out there, they can't get dintas in many counties now, they have to go under the scheme, they have to travel to different counties to get an appointment maybe 100 miles away. Are you going to do something for the dintas that are there? And I salute them for the hard work they do and the great care to take of young and old. We're going to have a huge crisis because if they're elected at this age, especially young people, going forward there are going to be huge costs to the state but the dintas need support, they need a modern contract that's reflective of what they do, the service they provide and the facilities they provide and that's not being reflected at all and they're being ignored out there and it's just, they're leaving, voting with their feet unfortunately and going into private practice they're going abroad and the public out there depending on medical cards are left abandoned and they can't get dental treatment so action needs to be taken on this issue. Thanks Deputy, first of all I want to acknowledge that we have a problem with the DTSS, with the medical card scheme for dental services. We have about 1150 dentists who are part of the scheme, about 300 have left in recent times and that means that in large parts of the country people can't get a dentist and can't get the dental care that they need but it's not fair to say that nothing is happening or people have been ignored. Negotiations are actually underway at the moment between the HSE Department of Health and the Irish Dental Association. 56 million euros goes into the scheme every year and there's 10 million euros on the table, 10 million euros on the table for dentists if they accept the offer that's being made and that is currently under negotiation. Thank you. Thank you. MINISTER 1 NICLE MINISTER 2 MINISTER 2 MINISTER 2 MINISTER 3 MINISTER 5 MINISTER 2 MINISTER
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