A Killarney Councillor is calling on the Council to urgently intervene in the Dental Medical Card Scheme which he says "is reaching crisis point".

Cllr John O'Donoghue, who said that he has spoken to numerous dentists in recent weeks about this issue, is calling on the Council to contact the Minister for Health and the HSE as many dental practices are refusing to take on new patients due to it being financially unviable.

"They paint a very bleak picture of the problem which has hit crisis point," he said.

"The Dental Medical Card Scheme has not been updated in years and it has led to a situation whereby it is no longer financially feasible for dentists to take on patients who are on the scheme. Some are still seeing their original patients but not taking on any new cases, while many more have simply stopped treating any patient who comes in to them with a Medical Card. It has led to a situation whereby I do not believe that at present, there is any dentist in the county of Kerry taking on new patients who wish to use their Medical Card."

He said that in recent weeks he rang dentists in Killarney, Tralee, Cahersiveen, Kenmare, Killorglin, Listowel, Dingle and many more in between.

Operating at a loss

"I could not find any who were willing to take on a new patient who wishes to use their Medical Card. The fault in this issue lies not with the dentists, as although I am not a businessman, I know the quickest way to go out of business is to operate at a loss. Indeed, I have huge sympathy for all who work in the dental surgeries in our county and beyond because this is a nationwide problem, as they are the people who have to face members of the public and tell them they can’t give them the treatment they so badly need. Many unfortunate people when faced with being unable to use their Medical Card for their treatment, and being unable to afford to pay for the treatment privately, are now opting to suffer the indignity of having the offending tooth or teeth extracted rather than treated. This is an appalling situation and I am horrified to think that any individual living in our county or country would be treated so poorly. It is a shocking indictment on the HSE that such a situation would still exist in 2022, and I call on the Minister for Health and the relevant bodies to intervene immediately and revise the scheme without delay."