Special needs kids face long dental wait

Young children with special needs are being forced to wait up to three years to see a dentist in the public service because of the recruitment ban in the HSE, according to the Irish Dental Association (IDA). 

The Association, in its a pre-Budget submission, has urged the lifting of the HSE moratorium on recruitment of public dental surgeons in order to alleviate this crisis.

The IDA also warned the Government not to accede to the proposal from the McCarthy Report Group to scrap the PRSI scheme – by which workers across the country receive financial support for dental treatments on foot of PRSI levies paid by them through their salaries. 

The IDA has warned that to dismantle this PRSI scheme would mean that workers could no longer access benefits which they’ve already paid for through their taxes.
 
The Association has also called for the Government to review the impact of the VAT difference between the Republic and Northern Ireland and to remove VAT from essential dental health products.

[Posted: Fri 06/11/2009]