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NEW FIGURES FROM the Irish Dental Association (IDA) show that three out of four people who are entitled to a free dental examination do not avail of the service.
The IDA said cutbacks to the two main dental health schemes and ongoing confusion over people’s entitlements have led to an “alarming deterioration” in the dental health of the population. It also said the HSE’s “failure to explain to people what their entitlements were”, amounted to a dereliction of duty.
The IDA pointed out that a study on perceptions of dental health in seven European countries found that Ireland had the lowest number of adults attending the dentist for routine examinations. Ireland also had the highest number of patients citing cost as a factor preventing attendance at the dentist.
Chief Executive of the IDA, Finta Hourihan, told delegates at the IDA’s annual conference in Galway that the “short-sightedness” of withdrawing several modest benefits from three million patients was already becoming apparent.
“These simple preventive treatments were key to maintaining good dental health for the general population,” he said. “In their absence dentists are seeing a huge increase in dental decay and gum disease. Other problems which may be caused or made worse by poor dental health include heart disease, strokes, diabetes, premature and low birth weight babies and respiratory disease.”
Hourihan said the government and its predecessor has created a “dental health time bomb” by slashing PRSI and medical card schemes, halving tax reliefs for orthodontic and other dental treatments and by reducing the number of dentists and nurses in the public service by 20 per cent over the last two years.
The IDA has recommended a number of “timely and cost-efffective measures” to address the decline in dental health:
“We need urgent action,” Hourihan added. “The voucher system would be a good starting point and that’s what we need right now.”
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The French ATC workers should not be Allowed to hold us to ransom, they’ve caused chaos in the past. French strikes have caused chaos in Calais recently too. There should be a euro wide ATC service and an end to ATC ruining holidays and costing businesses millions.
At least the French (and Germans, and Spanish, and Italians….well pretty much every other European country out there) has the balls to drop tools and protest when they are being royally shafted unlike us piss wimpy Irish who bend over and take it with glee!
I agree, but how many people are EU sceptics (including me) demanding return of soverinty, but when is covinient then people demans more integration, such as the example of an Euro ATC which would take control of our sovereign skies, which one is it, integration or back to the EEA?
No doubt the French Air Traffic Controllers take the pi$$ but if Mick in Ryanair had his way we would all be working for tuppence halfpenny an hour…
There must be a middle ground…
French ATC workers are extremely well paid and just flex their muscles every now and then…generally to get even more. Greedy people who don’t give a monkey’s for anyone else.
As for Danish civil servants being banned from using Ryanair…..presume that is forbbusiness, or does their employer dictate how they can spend their own cash?
Why dont they get bilderbergs to help squash the People’s rights to strike!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Bobby, don’t be daft most EU states have legislation that prevents critical services from striking Spain, Germany, Italy and Ireland included!!
It makes sense that critical services are available
Unions wreaking Europe 24/7
The French in general are bad B******* 2when it comes to industrial relations with police standing idly by while fires rage on train tracks, lorries are invaded by foreign nationals and their government sit on their hands and do SFA frankly. It’s an annual beano insofar as the airlines are concerned but no one gives a toss . They need sorted out !
Michael forget those troublesome Danes go speak with Kim e yung of North Korea just opened a new airport and no fear of strikes there.
If it was not for strike then Employers would take advantage of employees.Already employees are being taken advantage of by employers because of the state of the economy.Everyone should have the right to strike and the French air traffic controllers have that right like anyone else.In France if the rail go on strike then the union tells the air traffic controllers to go on strike too on their behalf so it is not necessarily the Controllers on all those occasions with the issues
As for Michael O Leary he treats his own staff terribly yet people in Ireland think he’s great and admire his business ideas, yet those business ideas rids employees of any rights, treats them like s**t, pays them the lowest of what he can get away with while he has brought down flight costs he devalues the customers rights,and treats passengers like crap too
I agree.
Why doesn’t Michael publish the contracts and terms and conditions of these zero hour contract employees.
He’s great for shouting about the great terms and conditions of those who work for him but is very secretive about publishing the contracts.
Why the secrecy?
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