Dentists angered by continued budget cutbacks in Ireland
Dentists in Ireland have hit out at the Government, following the announcement that cutbacks in the medical card holder scheme will continue next year.
Finance Minister, Brian Lenihan, announced that funding for the medical card dental scheme would continue to be reduced next year; funding for 2011 will be the same as in 2008.
Irish dentists have reacted angrily to the news; last year, the cuts were brought in to try and reduce the government deficit and medical card holders saw their dental care halved, despite the fact that they were contributing the same amount of money to the scheme. Dentists have been protesting since January, when the announcement was first made and some dentists have even taken legal actions against the Health Service Executive.
In light of the recent announcement by Mr Lenihan, the Irish Dental Association has accused the government of isolating the people who need dental care the most. Chief Executive, Fintan Hourihan, said that the previous scheme wasn’t perfect but at least it provided a basic level of care for people who were on a low income; now, people are left with next to nothing and are finding it increasingly difficult to afford dental treatment.
By the end of next year, the number of medical card holders will increase to 1.6 million; Mr Hourihan said that it was completely unrealistic to expect levels of funding from 2008 to support 1.6 million people.
Join this Discussion