Refund cash-strapped workers demands SIPTU

CASH-STRAPPED workers forced to pay for dental treatment because of an industrial dispute should get their money back, a leading trade unionist said yesterday.

The 1.7 million insured workers who pay PRSI cannot get free standard dental treatment because of a dispute between the Irish Dental Association (IDA) and the Minister for Social and Family Affairs.

The dentists say they can no longer give the same standard of treatment to insured patients as given to private patients because rates paid by the State have not kept pace with inflation.