Sinn Féin TD for Mayo Rose Conway-Walsh has expressed alarm at the collapse in dental services for Mayo in the last 18 months, as dentists drop out of medical card scheme in record numbers.
Teachta Conway-Walsh said: "Dental services for Mayo are being allowed to collapse. Almost half of dentists in Mayo have left the medical card dental scheme since January 2020.
"This has been caused by harsh cuts in spending on dental treatment. We know that there was a cut of 40% between 2017 and 2020 in Mayo – with an average of 34% across the state as a whole.
"That has led to dentists leaving the medical card scheme In their droves. There are 285 less dentists in the scheme today than 18 months ago. That represents a drop of 19%.
"As alarming as those figures are, Mayo has fared significantly worse with a drop from 52 dentists to 29 in the last year and a half. That is a 44% drop – more than double the national average.
"My office has received calls from people all over Mayo trying to access dental services. The problem seems to be worst in North Mayo, particularly Ballina.
"The Irish Dental Association highlighted their concerns recently in the Health Committee, stating that difficulty in accessing dental treatment contributes to poor oral health and greater healthcare costs. The burden of this disproportionately falls on lower income groups, especially those who rely on medical cards.
"Care delayed is care denied and the crisis in health continues to get worse under this Government. Sinn Féin would expand public dentistry capacity by hiring 160 public dental staff, including dentists, hygienists, and technicians at a cost of 7.4 million. This would support the rollout of dental screening in schools as well as access to dentists for medical card holders."
