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PRSI Treatment Benefit: dental, optical and hearing support

If you have enough PRSI contributions, the Department of Social Protection pays for a yearly dental examination and an eye test every second year, and contributes set amounts towards a scale and polish, glasses or contact lenses, hearing aids and hair replacement products. The provider checks your entitlement and claims the payment; you pay any balance.

Sources checked 24 September 2026. Next editorial check planned for 24 March 2027. Republic of Ireland only; Northern Ireland has different schemes. General information, not medical, legal or financial advice.

Irene Higgins Opticians shopfront, West End, Buncrana, Co. Donegal, with parked cars
Photo: Kenneth Allen, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0

Who this is for

  • Employees, self-employed people and retired workers with the required PRSI contributions (classes A, E, P, H or S).
  • A dependent spouse, civil partner or cohabitant of a qualified person, subject to the dependant conditions.
  • Not for people looking for the HSE medical card dental scheme; that is a separate scheme run by the HSE.

Before you start

  • Your PPS number and date of birth: the provider needs them to check your entitlement with the Department.[1]
  • A provider on the Department’s panel. Only panel dentists, opticians, optometrists, ophthalmologists, hearing aid suppliers and hair replacement suppliers can provide the benefit; the panel lists are on gov.ie.[1][4][5][6]
  • If you are claiming as a dependant, your partner’s PPS number and their signature on the claim form.[3]

Step by step

  1. 1

    Check that your PRSI record fits your age band

    Under 21 you need at least 39 paid contributions. From 21 to 28 you need 39 paid contributions plus 39 paid or credited in the governing contribution year, or 26 paid in each of the second and third last years. From 29 you need at least 260 paid contributions plus the same recent-year condition. People aged 66 and over have their own rule, and anyone who qualified between 60 and 65 keeps the entitlement for life.[1] For a 2026 claim the governing contribution year is 2024.[3] If you do not qualify on your Irish record, PRSI paid in another EU country or the UK may count.[1]
  2. 2

    Choose a panel provider and ask them to check

    Tell the practice you want to use Treatment Benefit before treatment starts. The provider checks whether you qualify and claims the payment afterwards; Citizens Information advises confirming with the provider before going ahead.[1][3]
  3. 3

    Sign the consent form

    Before treatment you sign a consent form so the provider can pass your identification details to the Department. A dependant and the insured partner both sign.[1][3]
  4. 4

    Pay any balance

    The Department pays the provider its fee. You pay the rest: anything above the €15 cap on a scale and polish, the full balance on periodontal treatment, the cost of non-basic frames above €42, or the cost of a hearing aid above €500.[1][2]

What the scheme pays for

Dental

Free
An oral examination once a calendar year.
Contribution
€50 towards a scale and polish (you pay at most €15 more) or €42 towards periodontal treatment (no cap on the balance), once a calendar year.
Not covered
Fillings, extractions, crowns, root canals and other treatments are not among the listed items.

Optical

Free
An eye test once every second calendar year (not for screen or driving licence tests). Basic frames.
Contribution
Once every second calendar year, a set fee towards one pair of glasses or contact lenses: €42.37 for single vision, €84.19 for bifocal or varifocal, €42 towards non-basic frames. Medical contact lenses up to €500 per lens on an ophthalmologist’s recommendation.
Not covered
Cosmetic contact lenses; sight tests for work screens or driving licences.

Hearing and hair

Free
Nothing is fully free; these are contributions.
Contribution
Up to €500 per hearing aid and one repair up to €100 per aid, every four calendar years. Up to €500 once a calendar year for a non-surgical hair replacement product after hair loss from cancer treatment or listed types of alopecia.
Not covered
The balance above each contribution; surgical or topical hair loss treatments.

Not the same as the medical card

Treatment Benefit is a social insurance benefit paid by the Department of Social Protection through private providers on its panel. The medical card dental scheme is run by the HSE with a different provider list, and the gov.ie panel lists do not include medical card providers.[1] If you hold a medical card, see what the medical card covers.

Treatment in another EU country or the UK

Confirm with the Treatment Benefit Section before treatment that you qualify. If you do, you send your receipts, a letter with your contact details and your bank details, and the Department pays the Irish rate for that treatment or the amount you paid, whichever is lower.[1][3]

What happens next

For treatment in Ireland there is nothing to send in: the provider claims the payment from the Department. Keep receipts if you also intend to claim tax relief on non-routine dental work, which this scheme does not cover.[1]

If something goes wrong

Treatment Benefit Section, Department of Social Protection, St Oliver Plunkett Road, Letterkenny, Co Donegal, F92 T449. Phone 0818 300 600 or 074 916 4496. Email treatmentenquiries@welfare.ie.[1]

Dependant application forms are only available from the provider or from the Treatment Benefit Section. The official pages describe no online self-check, so ask the provider to check for you.[1]

Common questions

How often can I use each benefit?
Dental examination and scale and polish once a calendar year; eye test and glasses or lenses once every second calendar year; hearing aids once every four calendar years; hair replacement products once a calendar year.
Does my partner qualify on my record?
A dependent spouse, civil partner or cohabitant can qualify on your record if their gross income is €100 a week or less (or they were dependent on you before starting work) and they are not getting a social welfare payment other than the listed exceptions. A surviving partner keeps the entitlement while widowed.
Are most dentists on the panel?
Citizens Information says most dentists are. Check the gov.ie list or ask the practice.

Official application

Read the scheme on gov.ie

There is no application to make for treatment in Ireland: your panel provider checks your entitlement and claims the payment. FairCare does not collect any details.

Find services on FairCare

A listing here does not mean the provider takes part in any scheme described in this guide. Check with the provider.

Sources

  1. [1] gov.ie: Treatment Benefit Scheme, page dated 2026-02-12
  2. [2] gov.ie: Treatment Benefit fees payable, page dated 2026-03-26
  3. [3] Citizens Information: Treatment Benefit Scheme, page dated 2026-03-26
  4. [4] gov.ie: Treatment Benefit panel of dentists, page dated 2026
  5. [5] gov.ie: Treatment Benefit panel of dispensing opticians, optometrists and ophthalmologists, page dated 2026
  6. [6] gov.ie: Hearing aid suppliers on the panel, page dated 2026
Figures in this guide that change
  • Scale and polish payment and cap on the balance: €50 paid, balance capped at €15 (from 31 January 2026) (source [1])
  • Periodontal treatment payment: €42, no cap on the balance (source [1])
  • Hearing aid contribution: up to €500 per aid every four calendar years, one repair per aid up to €100 (source [1])
  • Frames contribution: basic frames free, €42 towards other frames (source [1])
  • Medical contact lenses: up to €500 per lens every second calendar year, on an ophthalmologist’s recommendation (source [1])