Dentists advocate tax reforms in pre-Budget submission to improve access to dental care following €800 million in state cuts

The Irish Dental Association (IDA) is calling for range of impactful reforms in their 2026 Pre-budget Submission, aimed at addressing growing difficulties in accessing dental care and the prolonged staffing crisis facing the dental sector.

The submission provides seven recommendations around three core themes of;

• improving funding and public access to dental care;
• ensuring that public and private dental services can secure adequate levels of staffing;
• securing further investment and reform in dental schools.

The Association is calling for reform of the Med 2 tax relief system, which would allow patients to receive a tax break on a range of preventative and rehabilitative treatments.

86% of Irish dentists state they believe reform of the Med 2 scheme would improve access to care and encourage patients to seek vital preventative care.

The Association is also calling for changes to the Critical Skills List, advocating for the addition of dentists and dental nurses. This would bring dentistry in line with the recent changes made for non-EEA doctors, whereby doctors who have been in the State for between 2-5 years may apply for a new permission granting them the right to work without a permit.

The Association recently found that there has been a €800 million cut in state spending on dental care for PRSI and Medical Card patients between 2009 and 2023.

This €800 million deficit in funding represents a lost decade in dental care, which has compounded negative health outcomes for the poorest and most vulnerable in our society. The IDA is calling on the government to commit to a high level of investment in services for PRSI and Medical Card patients to unwind this deficit.

The Association is also advocating for there to be a requirement on dentists and dental auxiliary workers to maintain professional competence on a statutory footing, which can be done without any additional financial cost to the state and will safeguard patients.

The IDA is calling for the establishment of a structured mentoring scheme that would allow graduates to learn in a safe and supportive environment as they begin to practice dentistry. The IDA believes the Minister for Health should ring-fence a budget of €3 million per annum to fund a defined number of training places per year.

There is also a need for the government to properly fund Irish dental schools, including the opening of a new dental school in University College Cork (UCC) and to limit the number of non-EEA students who make up a large proportion of dental students at UCC and Trinity College Dublin.

Approximately 40% of total dental student intake is from outside the EEA. While these students contribute significantly to funding, the vast majority do not remain in Ireland post-graduation in time of serious staffing shortages.

IDA CEO Fintan Hourihan stated “It is clear that we more and more patients are facing difficulties in accessing dental care due to costs and the shortage of dentist and dental professionals. We face a range of prolonged crises from retention and recruitment, to underfunding and a lack of dental infrastructure. We ask the Minister and Department of Health to closely consider these proposals as we face into the 2026 budgetary cycle.

Oral health is absolutely vital to living a long and healthy life, it cannot be treated as a luxury or as an optional bonus in the provision of public healthcare.”