Paul Donnelly (Dublin West, Sinn Fein)
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512. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the payment changes made to the treatment benefit scheme in each of the years 2020 to 2023 and to date in 2024 [42907/24]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Treatment Benefit is a PRSI-based scheme which provides free dental and optical services, and assistance towards the provision of audiological appliances and hair replacement products, to people who satisfy certain qualifying conditions, and to their dependent spouses/partners.

In 2023, €133 million was paid in respect of 1.7 million Treatment Benefit claims.

The following changes were made to the treatment benefit scheme from 2020 to date in 2024.

Medical Appliances - Hearing Aids

From April 2021, the Department contributes up to €500 per hearing aid, per ear once every 4 years. Prior to this, the Department paid 50% of the cost of hearing aids up to a maximum of €500 per aid per ear.

This Regulation removed the requirement for the customer to pay 50% of the full cost of the medical appliance. As a result of this change, if the cost exceeds the maximum grant of €500, only the remainder is paid by the customer.

Contact Lenses

From 2022, a payment of up to €1,000 can be claimed towards the cost of a pair of medical contact lenses (€500 for each contact lens) once every 2 years. This amendment provided for the frequency of payment of the grant to be increased from once every 4 years to once every 2 years.

Hair Replacement Grant

From May 2022, an annual hair replacement benefit of up to €500 was introduced. This payment assists people who have suffered hair loss due to the treatment of a disease (cancer) or certain types of alopecia to purchase a hair replacement product.

Qualifying Conditions

Up to 2022, those aged 25-28 years old had to be in employment for 5 years to qualify for Treatment Benefit. This period was reduced to 39 weeks from April 2022, meaning that the number of PRSI contributions required to access treatment benefits was reduced for this cohort from 260 weeks to 39 weeks.

Dental Examination Fee

A new fee structure for the payment of services in relation to dental treatment for patients entitled to Treatment Benefit was introduced from 27th January 2024. The fee for an Oral examination was increased from €33 to €40. Eligible beneficiaries can avail of an examination once per calendar year.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.