A Credit or voucher scheme could rebuild relations between the public, dental providers and government, according to prominent academic Ciaran O’Neill, Queen’s University Belfast, who has produced an independently commissioned research paper.

Relations between the public, dental providers and government could be rebuilt with the help of a credit or voucher scheme, according to a prominent academic.

Ciaran O’Neill, Professor of Health Economics at Queen’s University Belfast, has produced an independently commissioned research paper concluading that such a scheme would bring necessary reform to the current practices and fee structure.

This in turn, he says, would mean they met modern standards.

The annual cost of a scheme offering a voucher or credit towards dental care of between €100 and €500 would be €108 million and €232 million respectively.

It would give medical card holders access to the increased care and treatment that is currently available to them only in emergencies.

The CEO of the Irish Dental Association, Fintan Hourihan, said: “There is currently one dentist per 2,000 medical card patients – this cannot be allowed to continue.

“It is incumbent on the government and HSE to reform this scheme urgently and the model set out by Professor O’Neil deserves consideration.”