240 Mr. Wyse asked the Minister for Health the total number of medical card holders or their dependants currently awaiting orthodontic treatment in the Southern Health Board area.

Children seen by the Southern Health Board's school dental service are referred for screening for orthodontic treatment in accordance with guidelines issued by my Department. There is no differentiation between children who are covered by medical card, and others in the school dental service and consequently the number of children covered by medical cards is not readily available.

The following is the current waiting list in the Southern Health Board for children awaiting orthodontic treatment.