26 August 2022

Optical claims increase

The Department of Social Protection has released its 2021 annual report, in which is sets out data on the eligibility and claims made under the Treatment Benefit Scheme (TBS).

TBS provides optical, dental and aural services to insured workers, the self-employed, retired people and their dependent spouse or partner who have the required number of Pay Related Social Insurance (PRSI) contributions. It is the department's largest individual scheme in terms of claims with over 1.4 million claims in 2021 at a cost of over €109 million.

The optical benefit under the scheme allows eligible patients a free eye test once every second calendar year and a payment towards one pair of glasses.

The number of requests for eligibility for optical benefit recovered following Covid restrictions in 2020, with claims up by 25% since 2020, to over 792,250. The number of claims for optical services under the scheme increased by over 27% since 2020, to nearly 525,000.

Read the full report.