Minister Humphreys urges workers not to miss out on their entitlements under the Treatment Benefit Scheme
- Published on: 8 August 2024
- Last updated on: 13 August 2024
- Almost 1.2 million benefit from scheme to date in 2024
- Funding towards Hearing Aids, Dental Work, Eyesight Checks and Wigs
- Scheme about giving back to workers who pay into the system via their PRSI contributions
- “Don’t miss out – Book your check-up today!” – Minister Humphreys
The Minister for Social Protection, Heather Humphreys TD, has encouraged workers to avail of her Department’s Treatment Benefit, a scheme which supports workers access dental, eyesight and hearing treatments.
Under the Treatment Benefit Scheme, a person may qualify for:
- Dental benefit – a free annual oral examination and a payment of €42 towards either a scale and polish, or periodontal treatment, once a calendar year. If the cost of either cleaning or periodontal treatment is more than €42, the customer must pay the balance - capped at €15 for a scale and polish. There is no cap on the balance charged for periodontal treatment.
- Optical benefit - free eyesight test every 2 years and an allowance towards glasses, contact lenses medical lenses and repairs.
- Hearing aids - Maximum grant of €500 per hearing aid every four years (€1,000 for a pair), also a grant of up to €100 per aid for cost of repairs every four years.
- Hair replacement products / Wigs – Maximum grant of €500 per product annually. The payment assists people who have suffered hair loss due to treatment of cancer or certain types of alopecia to purchase a hair replacement product.
Speaking today, Minister Humphreys said:
“I strongly encourage all workers to look at their entitlements under the Treatment Benefit scheme where they can avail of free dental examinations, eyesight checks and hearing tests.
“I especially encourage those under 25 to look at their entitlements under the scheme. In 2022, I changed the insurance contributions required for younger workers to made it easier for them to qualify. That change recognised that a substantial number of younger people are now entering the workforce later and are less likely to have built up the required number of social insurance contributions required to avail of the Treatment Benefit scheme.
“This scheme is about giving something back to people who work hard and contribute to the system via their PRSI contributions. I want to make sure people know about it and avail of it.
“I am delighted to support this scheme which benefits millions of workers and I would urge all who have an entitlement to make sure they get the full benefit from their PRSI contributions.”
Breakdown of 2024 Claims and Expenditure under the Treatment Benefit Scheme:
| Scheme | Claims to date (July 2024) | Expenditure to date (July 2024) |
| Dental | 753,787 | €46,206,620.00 |
| Optical | 403,340 | €28,105,702.76 |
| Medical Appliance (includes Hair & Hearing Aids) | 20,454 | €17,286,716.59 |
| Total | 1,177,581 | €91,599,039.35 |
Notes to Editors:
Under the Treatment Benefit scheme, dental, optical, and aural services are provided to insured employees, the self-employed and retired people, who have the required number of qualifying PRSI contributions. People can avail of a range of treatments, either free or part funded.
Furthermore, contributors that have suffered hair loss due to treatment of cancer or certain types of alopecia can avail of a €500 grant towards the purchase of a hair replacement product.
To qualify, a person needs to have at least 260 PRSI contributions paid at either Class A, E, H, P or S, since first starting work, and have 39 contributions paid or credited in the relevant contribution year on which the claim is based. The relevant contribution year for claims made in 2024 is 2022.
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 to 39. There are also modified qualifying conditions for those over 60 years which, once satisfied, mean you qualify for life.
Further information in relation to the Treatment Benefit Scheme and it’s qualifying conditions is available at Gov.ie - Treatment Benefit