Councillor Patsy O’Brien has voiced his opposition to recent proposals regarding dental healthcare benefits in Ireland. Among the many funding cuts put forward in the McCarthy Report, one proposal currently being considered involves the ending of the Dental Treatment Benefits Scheme, otherwise known as the PRSI scheme, for which more than two million people in Ireland are eligible every year.
“Having been contacted by a number of local dentists in the area, I have been alerted to the serious implications that such a move would have,” Cllr O’Brien stated. “If this cover is withdrawn, not only will it have serious repercussions for dental practices and patients, but it is also yet another way of undermining taxpayers. People have been making their PRSI contributions towards this for years, and if the Government goes ahead with the report’s recommendations and makes these cuts, they are effectively depriving people of these benefits.”
The councillor also pointed out how such a move would negatively impact the healthcare sector. “Dentists are confident that the improvement seen in the dental health of patients over the last couple of decades has largely been due to the existence of this benefits scheme, so standards of dental health will of course drop if this scheme is brought to an end,” he said. “This means that more pressure will be put on our already struggling A & E Departments and public health service if people leave serious dental conditions untreated.” And on a more serious note, Cllr O’Brien explained that the routine check-ups and dental work that is currently covered under the scheme has often allowed dentists to be the first to alert patients to possible indicators of more serious health conditions, such as diabetes, oral cancer, and heart disease.
“The negligible savings that the Government would make from the discontinuation of this scheme are surely outweighed by the benefits that the scheme currently provides,” Cllr O’Brien added. “Dentists do not receive huge amounts of State funding, and have also seen their incomes drop over the past year from cuts made in the last budget. Any more funding cuts will seriously impact the future of dental healthcare in Ireland.”
