Madam, – Believe it or not we dentists are struggling far more than most would believe. While I’m sure there’ll be few marches on the Dáil to support us, the removal of the medical card from many of our older patients, the 50 per cent cut in tax allowance for dental treatments and the general collapse in everyone’s disposable income has decreased revenue in dental practices by 15 per cent to 40 per cent across the country. This impacts not only on the dentists but obviously also on our staff. With more than 1,500 practices in the State, taken together, we are an enormous employer. Also, unlike doctors, we receive no capital grants or financial support to purchase our equipment or pay for our staff.
Just as I was about to despair at the McCarthy report’s “proposal” to abolish the PRSI scheme entitling two million patients to free and discounted dental treatment, down dropped a ray of sunshine in the guise of your guest opinion writer, Ailish Connelly (Opinion, August 19th). She succinctly and knowledgeably explained the pressures we’re under and unlike most who opine on the subject in the media, she resisted the temptation to descend to hysterical populism which can border on class warfare. But enough about your regular columnist Vincent Browne! – Yours, etc,