Free dental checks to be made available for the self-employed in Ireland

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Around 500,000 self-employed people in Ireland will be able to access free dental check-ups as part of a scheme revealed in last year’s budget.

The Department of Social Protection has confirmed that self-employed people and farmers and dependent spouses will be entitled to one free check-up or eye test per year according to new guidelines, which were outlined in October’s budget.

The scheme is part of the PRSI programme, from which self-employed workers were previously excluded. Dentists who provide patients covered by PRSI have been informed of the changes, which will come into play this week, according to Leo Varadkar, minister for social protection.

The move has been welcomed by chair of the General Dental Practitioner Group of the Irish Dental Association, Dr Tom Rodgers. Dr Rodgers said that the changes represent a small step in the right direction of improving PRSI dental care.

Plans to reintroduce a free scale and polish treatment, which was abolished in 2010, were also revealed in last year’s budget; however, this will not take place until October.

In the last seven years, it is estimated that the value of benefits offered by the scheme has fallen by €500 million, and the IDA has been campaigning for better dental care for those covered by PRSI since cuts were confirmed in 2010.

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