Only nine dental practices in Mayo signed up to medical card scheme

Participation remains entirely voluntary, as dentists operating under the DTSS are private practitioners.

By Jack Good Published 24th Jun 2026, 12:00 BST Friends Stock - stock.adobe.com Participation remains entirely voluntary, as dentists operating under the DTSS are private practitioners. Sign up to our Mayo Live newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know you can manage your profile, and explore all of the available newsletters from Mayo Live within your account.

Just nine dental practices across the whole of County Mayo are currently signed up to provide treatment to medical card holders under the Dental Treatment Services Scheme (DTSS), it has emerged, prompting fresh calls for the HSE to do more to bring dentists back into the scheme.

The issue was raised at a recent meeting of the Health Forum West, where Cllr Michael Kilcoyne stated that dentists "seem to have walked away" from the scheme "in a big way," and asked what the HSE could do to encourage them to return.

"The dentist would say that it's the department — capital D — that won't give them enough money. The department is saying that they're paying them what's reasonable. And in between, Mary and Johnny are left with a toothache," Cllr Kilcoyne said.

READ NEXT: Belmullet woman wins 'Best Dressed Lady' at Ballinrobe races

In response, Mary Warde, Integrated Health Area Manager for Mayo, said dentists are paid an agreed fee under the scheme, which was reached following negotiation between the HSE and the National Dental Office. However, she stressed that participation remains entirely voluntary, as dentists operating under the DTSS are private practitioners.

"It's up to the dentist to come forward to join the scheme, because they are private practitioners," Ms Warde said, adding that a third contractor in Mayo has recently expressed interest in joining and that paperwork for this is currently being progressed.

Read More Autism-friendly initiative to help make major Mayo climate conference accessible to all Reek Sunday parking chaos at Croagh Patrick averted as car park barrier fixed End of an era: ‘devastation’ as West Mayo National School closes after 177 years Westport mourns the passing of Teresa Berry Belmullet woman wins 'Best Dressed Lady' at Ballinrobe races Mayo one-off housing planning rules are ‘too strict’ - Minister Jack Chambers An updated list provided by the HSE shows the following practices currently participating in the scheme in Mayo: Tobin's Dental and Dental Care Ireland, Bourke's Dental, and Dr Shane Cadden, all in Castlebar ; Mayo Dental & Implant Clinic in Westport ; Erris Dental in Belmullet ; Dr Paul Murphy in Claremorris ; Dr Sean Kelly in Crossmolina ; and Dr Joe Durkan in Ballina.

The HSE said two additional contractors have recently joined the list, while one practice has resigned from the scheme. A further contractor has applied to join and is awaiting processing of their paperwork.

READ NEXT : End of an era: ‘devastation’ as West Mayo National School closes after 177 years

Cllr Kilcoyne noted that only a fraction of dentists in the county are now participating in the scheme, and said efforts to recruit more were ongoing but had so far yielded limited results. He pressed the HSE on how many dentists currently provide services to medical card holders in Mayo, and whether there were any concrete plans to increase that number.

Medical card holders are entitled to a free annual dental exam, extractions, up to two fillings per year, and a yearly scale and polish, among other treatments, under the DTSS. But access to these entitlements depends entirely on a patient being able to find a participating dentist — something campaigners and councillors say is becoming increasingly difficult in counties like Mayo, where some medical card holders have had to travel outside the county to access care.

Ms Warde said the HSE continues to engage with practices interested in joining the scheme, and that the current intake of new contractors in Mayo was evidence those efforts were ongoing.

Related topics: Cllr Michael Kilcoyne HSE Dentists Mayo Castlebar Crossmolina Claremorris Belmullet Westport Sign up to our Mayo Live newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know you can manage your profile, and explore all of the available newsletters from Mayo Live within your account.